


A Night Of Bloodshed

by TheArpil_MiyukiTanji1826



Category: Vampire Knight
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-15
Updated: 2016-12-15
Packaged: 2018-09-08 19:56:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 40,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8858725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheArpil_MiyukiTanji1826/pseuds/TheArpil_MiyukiTanji1826
Summary: Cross Academy was supposed to be Rose Ioh's getaway. She was supposed to be with the love of her life forever, and she was supposed to be happy. But none of that happens when a certain vampire shows his face, not to mention the trouble she soon finds herself in when an unknown vampire comes around. And to make matters worse, she is being hunted. How is she going to live a happy life when people keep screwing it up? How is she going to explain her life to the friends she makes when they begin to ask questions? And where does Kaien fit in to all of this?





	1. The School

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A Night Of Bloodshed](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/248311) by MiyukiTanji1826 (me). 



If you have ever thought vampires were not real, you apparently aren't very bright. For one thing, they like to be kept secret. Another, if you've ever met one you'd be dead. However, some of us are _totally_ different. Some of us are _actually_ going to school with humans.

For starters, I am one of those vampires. I am seventeen, about five-three, blue hair (was light brown, almost blonde if not white) and caramel eyes. My hair is pretty long, which can be a pain sometimes, but I'll never cut it. I normally keep it in pigtails with bangs, but if I don't get enough sleep, I wear it down, which is _really_ long. Like knee-length long. I've got freckles, which is a bit odd for vampires. And I'm also a pureblood. I am one of the most…most… How do I put it? Nobody really believes I am a vampire. I'm apparently too sweet, until I show my fangs.

Anyway, I am going to Cross Academy, a private school that just happens to have a day class _and_ a night class. I will be in the night class, all the vampires are there. Only reason I am going is 'cuz the love of my life is there, Hanabusa Aido. But I am also very curious about how everyone will coincide with each other's presences. It's funny because vampires attack humans. How are we going to get along?

Right now, I am on my way to the headmaster's office. Hanabusa and Akatsuki, my boyfriend and best friend, are supposed to be waiting on my arrival there. Only thing is, I don't know where it is! So, sadly, I am just walking around in this dumb school building getting more lost than I was before.

"Hey, are you lost?" someone yells behind me. I stop and turn around to find some girl with short brown hair and a black uniform, the day classes uniform, standing there.

"Uh, yeah, I am lost," I say completely embarrassed.

"You're the new girl here, right?" she asks.

"Yeah, I kind of just walked into the building without knowing where headmaster Cross's office was."

"Oh, I could take you to him. Follow me," she says and turns around.

I follow her through several hallways and doors. We finally get to his office.

"Thank you for bringing me here. Oh, what is your name?" I ask before opening the door.

"Yuki Cross. Yours?"

"Rose Ioh."

I wave bye and open the door. When I see everyone standing around, I fell like they knew I was here and knew I got lost.

"Nice to see you finally made it Rose," Kaien says.

"I didn't know where your office was," I say looking down at the ground.

"Did you miss me?" a familiar voice asks.

"Hanabusa?!" I say quickly. I look to the right of Kaien Cross and see Hanabusa standing there. "HANABUSA!" I run towards him and jump into his arms.

"Rose, I missed you," Hanabusa says.

"I missed you too," I say cheerfully.

He puts me down and kisses my forehead.

"Please, can't you wait until no one is looking?" Akatsuki says really disgusted.

"Screw you Akatsuki. You're just jealous 'cuz I'm with Hanabusa and not you," I say. I stick my tongue out at him.

"No, I could really care less." He brushes his hair out of his face and looks at headmaster Cross. "So do you want her to start class tonight or wait until next week?"

"Next week? I thought today was Thursday?" I say confusingly.

"Today is Friday Rose. That means we can spend the weekend together," Hanabusa says with his smile I love so much.

"Let's see what Kaname thinks," Cross says.

"Kaname? Kaname Kuran?" I ask.

"Hmmm? You didn't know he was here?" Cross asks.

"No. If I'd known that I wouldn't have come," I say angrily.

"Why?" he asks.

"Because he acts like he rules everything and everyone just because he is a freakin' pureblood! I'm sure if _**I**_ wanted everyone to wait on me hand and foot they'd look at me like I was stupid. Gah! He gets everything!" I don't pay attention to Kaien and the others pointing behind me. I _thought_ they were just messing with me.

"I'm sorry I seem like that, Rose," I hear Kaname's voice behind me.

I jump. "What the heck are you trying to do? Scare me to death?"

"Heh, you haven't changed," he says with a merciless smile.

"I've changed a lot thank you," I say and fold my arms.

"I meant in temper. Besides, can't we be like we used to? Having fun and-"

"Ha! Funny you'd mention that. Let's see here…." I pause for a few seconds. I act like I think _really_ hard. "No," I say drearily.

"Rose, you can't be so rude to him," Hanabusa says. Then he leans down and whispers, "I don't wanna see you get hurt." He pats my shoulder and straightens up. "Dorm president Kuran, do you want Akatsuki and me to escort her to her room?"

"No. But I do want the two of you," Kaname says, "to go back to the dorm."

Lucky me, I get to stay with Kaname. Ugh!

"I didn't know the two of you knew each other," headmaster Cross says as the Akatsuki shuts the door.

"Yeah, sadly we met right after my family died," I say. I scratch my head trying to think of a way to avoid this subject.

"That's right. I remember. I didn't realize that was you, Rose. It seems like you just save people all the time Kaname," Cross says cheerfully.

"And you think that's a good thing? It's only good if you like to be told what to do and how you aren't anything but a piece of-"

"Rose, I think that is enough," Kaname says.

"You know it's true." I look over my shoulder to find him staring right back at me. "Oh, and just to let you know, I'm not scared of you at all."

"We'll talk about this later, Rose," Kaname says evilly.

I finally give up. I _hate_ , **hate** , _**HATE**_ it when he stares at me like a deer-in-headlights. It's creepy.

"Headmaster Cross, if it is alright, I want Rose to start next week. She needs to learn the rules of this school," Kaname says.

"As you wish, Kaname," Cross says. "Now do try to get along." He directs this at me.

"Fine," I say in a huffed voice.

I start to leave when Cross says, "Rose, before you leave, how about I get my daughter to show you around the school so you don't get lost again."

"OK, that would be helpful," I say. Then I start to smirk. _Kaname doesn't get to come. Yes!_

"She should be here in a minute."

I sit down and wait. We wait and wait and wait. When I arrived in his office, it was three-thirty, and now it is ten minutes 'till five. I am getting antsy. I _hate_ to be kept waiting.

_BANG!_

"I'm so sorry I'm late headmaster," the girl from earlier says.

"Yuki, you're his daughter?" I ask.

"Yeah, I am," Yuki says and smiles.

"But I adopted her, Rose," Cross says.

I look at him. But then something hits me. _Yuki looks awfully familiar. Hmm…_ "So is she going to show me around?" I ask.

"Yes. My little Yuki is soooo good at it too!" he says, a little too excited about it.

"Oh, hey Kaname-senpai," Yuki says.

I look back at them and notice that Yuki is blushing. **WHAT?!** Trying to not be sick, I get up. "See ya later, Kaien. And don't worry, I am a civilized person," I say as I open the door.

"Goodbye Rose," Kaname says. I don't say a word. "Goodbye Yuki."

"Bye Kaname," Yuki says with a happy tone. Yuck! Is she in love with him?

We leave and Yuki immediately starts telling me where everything is and what all the classes are. She even told me where her room was. I just didn't see any of the other vampires. I am starting to think she thinks I'm in the day class.

"Yuki, you know who I am right?" I ask when we finally walk outside. The moon is out and is close to being full, but it is as bright as ever.

"Well, I know your name, but that's about it," Yuki says.

"Yuki, I'm-"

"Coming with me."

_**I am reposting this story from a different account on another website I have. I am going to try to re-post chapters regularly. Hopefully you will all enjoy it! Since it's been a while since I've re-read it, if anyone happens to find anything wrong, please let me know and I will fix it! Thank you!** _


	2. The Past

"K-Kaname, what are you doing here?" Yuki asks. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Yuki, I think you should go," Kaname says. He strokes Yuki's cheek, and I almost die. "Is something wrong Rose?"

I turn my back to them. "Does she know _what_ you are?" I ask.

"You mean you know he's a vampire?" Yuki asks.

"Rose, don't start this," Kaname warns. But why should I care?

"Why? What will you do to me…Kaname?" I turn my head enough to see he is more than just looking or staring at me. I believe it is the devil inside him glaring at me.

"Kaname is she, does she… Rose, are you a vampire?!" Yuki yells at me. Between Kaname's piercing cold stare and Yuki's pitiful face, I somehow felt like this has all happened before. Almost like a memory, but a sad one. "Rose, are you a vampire?" I can barely hear Yuki through all my rushing thoughts.

" _Rose, ROSE! Run Rose, run!"_ …

"Rose, can you hear me?"

_Oh, my head hurts._

"Please open your eyes. Just for me at least."

 _Who's talking?_ "Ha-na-busa? Hanabusa, is that you?" I open my eyes a little and see him standing over me. "Please tell me she didn't get me."

"Who?" he asks me.

"Shizuka Hio," I whisper.

I shut my eyes and remember. I block out all other worldly sounds and lock myself in my mind. For a moment, I thought I'd died, but then I notice sakura out of season…

…"Rose, where are you?" someone yells.

I turn around to see a woman with long brown hair standing in the snow. "What? Is something wrong?" I ask her.

"You'll die out here if you don't come home," she says, her hand outstretched.

"Home?" I mumble.

"Rose, ROSE! Run, Rose! Run!" the woman screams.

"What?" I whisper.

I'm frozen stiff. A quick flash of white and the woman falls. The snow that had fallen is now soaked in red. She is dead. Then it hit me that the woman was my sister.

"Rose, you'll be next," someone says.

"Shizuka? Why did you kill her?" I ask knowing she had killed my oldest sister.

"You'll know soon. Go home first and you'll see more."

Shizuka "disappears" and I "leave". I am home, and everyone is dead. My mother and father, my brother and sister, all four are at Shizuka's feet; her clothing crimson red, her hair is dripping blood.

"Do you understand anything yet?" she asks with a sick smile on her face.

"You killed them," I cry. "Why?"

Shizuka sighs and pushes the bodies out of her way as she walks towards me. "You still don't understand. Rose, you're a vampire."…

" **Rose, wake up!"** _SLAP!_

I jerk awake with a sharp pain in my right cheek.

"You shouldn't be thinking about her," Kaname says.

"I didn't mean to," I say. I rub my face and wonder how he knew what I was thinking.

"How could you not mean to. It is impossible to even speak her name without thinking about her."

I sit up and look around me. He'd apparently brought me to the moon dorm. I was sitting on a bed in a beautiful room. The bed was huge with pink, purple, brown, and white poka-dots on the sheets. It was dark, no lights. The only source of light was that of the moon shinning through the windows.

"Are you all right?" Kaname asks.

"Um, yeah I guess," I say. I look for Hanabusa, but there was no other soul in here. Besides, he asked if I was all right. _That_ scares me more than where Hanabusa is. "Where is Yuki and Hanabusa?"

"Yuki is downstairs. She wouldn't leave until she knew you were all right. She already considers you her friend. And Hanabusa had to go to class, but he wouldn't leave until he knew you were okay," Kaname says. He holds out his hand to me. I take it, and he helps me stand. "She wants to talk to you," he says. He lets go of my hand and he opens the door. I don't walk out. I stand stiff. "Rose, are you okay?" Just a hint of sympathy in his voice. Enough to count, anyway.

"Why am I thinking about her? I haven't thought of her for years. But the minute I walked into this school I felt like she was here," I say, sitting back down on the bed.

Kaname shuts the door and sits down beside me. "Maybe it was the fact that we hadn't seen each other in a while. Listen, we can talk tomorrow. Right now I need you to talk to Yuki."

He goes to stand, but I pull on his arm. "She said I'd be next, but I wasn't. I heard she attacked a vampire hunter family. Is she trying to mess with my head?" I ask.

"Tomorrow."

"Rose, you're all right," Yuki says as I walk down the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I frightened you. This kinda happens a lot," I lie. I honestly don't know why I passed out.

"Are you sick?" she asks.

"No, promise."

I hug her and she leaves. Kaname watches her leave from the window. "Rose, do you remember who she is?" Kaname asks me.

"She seems familiar, but I can't think. Wait." I look at him. He has a smile, a-a-a _happy_ smile.

"You remember. That's good."

I can't believe Yuki and Kaname and I used to be good friends. But we don't remember each other except for Kaname. But that is all I remember, that we were friends and nothing more. Why can't I remember?

"Go to bed and I'll wake you in the morning."

Sadly, I listen to him. I am exhausted. From getting here late this afternoon until now, I didn't realize how tired I was. I go back to what I assume is my room and immediately get in the bed. I don't even change my clothes.

"Rose, wake up."

"Five more minutes."

"Okay, but just five."

_Five minutes later..._

"Rose, wake up."

"Five more minutes."

"No, get up."

No sympathy this time. My covers are pulled off me and I open my eyes.

"C'mon Kaname. I was sleeping really well too," I say. I rub my eyes, sit up, and Kaname puts his hand on my head and I push it off. "Hey, no touchy."

"Are you ready to talk?" Kaname asks me.

"Can I at least take a shower?" I ask.

"What kind of person would I be to not let you take a shower?" He had a little itsy-bitty hint of humor in his voice.

I get up and I find that someone had put my clothes in the closet. I pick out the cutest dress I have. It is a summer dress. It is teal with a violet sash. A strapless dress for a perfect day with Hanabusa.

When I get out of the bathroom, Kaname is waiting for me.

"Stalker," I mumble.

"I heard that."

"Meant for ya to," I say.

"Are you ready to talk?" he asks.

"Yeah, I am now."


	3. Some Truth Revealed

We walk outside, the sun is rising and a cool breeze is blowing around us. I walk to a tree and sit down. Kaname follows, but he leans against it.

"So, ya gonna explain things?" I ask.

"Ask and I'll answer," Kaname says.

"OK. First off, why doesn't she and I remember the other?"

"When you left, things happened."

"Like what?"

"Ask another question," he says.

"Fine." I sigh and think about the next question I will ask. "Why did I think about her? I doubt you would bring her up."

"Who knows."

I could just kill him.

"I do know one thing, and you might want to listen. The family she attacked died, except for the children. Twins."

"And that has what to do with me?" I interrupt.

"Because he goes to this school."

" _He_? What about the other one?"

"Missing. They never could find him. Rumor has it she bit him. Other rumors say she took him and ripped him to pieces."

I stop listening to him. I am getting anxious and sick. I really want to meet this guy, but I have yet to be told his identity.

"Are you listening Rose?" Kaname asks.

"Wha? Sorry, I got bored," I say.

"Well, I guess you'll have to find out his name on your own."

"No, please tell me," I beg.

Kaname completely ignores me. He even leaves me sitting under the tree by myself. The jerk. Well, I am _not_ going to sit here all day though. I get up and walk to the school building. I knew Hanabusa wasn't at the dorm and I _really_ wanted to spend the weekend with him. Akatsuki too, but he can be a buzz kill.

" _Hey, is that a night class student?"_

" _Yeah, let's go say hi."_

" _No, are you crazy?"_

I am not used to all the day class students at all. Vampires are definitely not super models. We might be pretty, but not famous. No, every vampire _but_ me is famous. I just do my best to ignore all the people and continue walking, but then one person catches my eye.

He is tall with grayish white hair. Then I see Yuki beside him.

"Yuki, hey Yuki!" I yell. I wave my arms like a mad idiot.

Yuki looks in my direction. She waves at me and pulls on the guy's arm. He looks at me then back to her. I couldn't tell what he said, but he apparently doesn't like me. She drags him over (literally).

"Rose, I want you to meet Zero," Yuki says. "He's the other Disciplinary Committee member."

I smile at Zero. "Hi. Nice to meet you Zero. I'm-"

"I know who you are. You're a-"

"Zero, shut up!" Yuki covers his mouth before he calls me a vampire.

"You don't like me, do you?" I ask.

"I don't see why it matters," Zero says after he pulls Yuki's hand away from his mouth.

"'Cuz I just got here and you don't know anything about me!" I scream.

Everyone around us gets quiet. I am angry, Yuki is shocked, and Zero is just as plain and emotionless as a scarecrow.

"Rose, is something wrong?" someone asks.

I turn around and see Hanabusa and Akatsuki behind me. "Just making friends," I say with a smile.

"With Zero?!" Hanabusa asks angrily.

"Yeah, so?" I ask.

Hanabusa walks in between Zero and me. Akatsuki grabs my arm and pulls me back.

"Hey, what're you doing?" I ask.

"Be quiet," Akatsuki says.

We stand back far enough to hear them, but are out of their reach.

"Zero, stay away from her," Hanabusa orders.

"Zero, Hanabusa, stop fighting," Yuki says. She tries to get between them, but Zero holds her back.

"I don't want anything to do with the kinds like you," Zero retaliates.

I watch as they stare at each other. I don't know what to do. Akatsuki and Yuki aren't doing anything either.

"Hanabusa, Zero. Stop glaring," headmaster Cross says.

We all look at him including the other students who were just watching the fight with a night class and day class student.

"Time to leave Rose," Hanabusa says as he walks away from Zero.

"But why?" I ask.

No answer. I don't follow. Instead, I stop to ponder two things. **Where the heck did headmaster Cross come from?** And why does Hanabusa hate Zero? One question I'll never know, and the other I might not want to know.

"Rose!" Hanabusa yells.

I look at him. Hanabusa is very angry. Akatsuki already left him. I don't follow, so he leaves me. Repetitive, the three of us leaving the other.

"Why didn't you go with them?" Yuki asks. She walks over to me, pulling Zero behind her.

"I am not their dog. I don't have to obey them," I reply.

"Before we continue, let's go somewhere else," Kaien says.

 _We?_ I ignore the fact he put himself into our conversation and walk a bit. I finally stop and let Yuki lead us and we arrive at the water fountain. And somewhere along the way Kaien Cross disappeared.

"Just because you two are friends, don't think I'll be your friend," Zero says as he folds his arms.

"But I haven't done anything to you," I say getting snotty.

"Please be nice Zero," Yuki begs.

"Why should I be nice to a vampire? What have they ever done for me?" he asks impatiently.

"I'm not like the others. I don't know what they did to you, but stop putting me in with them!" I yell.

"Why should I? You are a vampire. Who's not to say you won't turn out like they have, if you haven't already," he says.

I don't know what to say. When I was young, before…before _she_ killed my family, I didn't even believe in vampires. Then I found out _I_ was one of them. I don't know who he is, but he doesn't understand the hell I've been through since _she_ appeared in my life.

"Listen here Zero. I don't give a freak who the hell you are or what the hell you have against vampires, but _you_ will **not** talk to me like that. You are Yuki's friend so I won't lose my cool again, but you better watch it. I'm sick and tired of people like _you_ looking down on me! I am nothing like those freakin' vampires," I say viciously.

Zero doesn't say anything. I am furious and I don't care if he hates me, but he won't walk over me so easily.

"Hehe, I'm starting to like you Rose," Zero says at last.

"Wha?" I am dumbfounded. Yuki is just giggling like crazy. "What's so funny? I-I-I-I don't get it."

I fall to my knees and cry. They stop laughing and come to my side. They don't understand what my life is like. I wasn't lying when I said that. But they must've thought I was.

"Are you okay?" Yuki asks.

"Why did you laugh?" is all I can say.

"You stood up to Zero. I knew you had guts, but I didn't realize…" She trails off.

"Most of the girls and guys are scared of me," Zero says.

"I'm not scared of anything," I say looking at him.

"Wait, really?" Yuki asks.

"I'd kill Kaname if I could. He ticks me off." I look at her expression and realize she does like him. Then I think that if it hadn't been for him… "Well, only if he really pissed me off."

"You've got guts. You aren't like the rest of the scum. It's weird how you are mixed with them." Zero looks at me in a kind way.

I get up and sit down on the edge of the fountain. They follow, one on each side of me. Without a word passed, Yuki pulls me into a hug. So warm. Hugs are so warm. Why can't they last?


	4. An Unthinkable Friend

"Is there something we don't know about you Rose? Well, I'm sure there is, but is there anything we can help you with?" Yuki asks.

I think for a moment. I am not sure if they'd even understand if I tell them. But would they believe me? "No, not at the moment. But if the time comes I'll tell you."

Zero stares at me for a moment. Then he asks, "Do you know who Shizuka Hio is?"

 _No, not her. Why did he bring her up? WHY?!_ I start to freak out and I bring my hands to my head. Thoughts start racing through my head. _How does he know her? Does Yuki? Do they know what she did to me? DO THEY ALREADY KNOW?!_

"Rose, Rose. Are you okay? Please answer me," Yuki says.

I open my eyes and notice she's over me. I look around and see that I fell on the ground. Great, just great.

"Did I pull a trigger?" Zero asks teasingly, yet sorrowfully as well.

"Shut up," I say. I try to sit up, but I fall back. "I'm fine… I'll be fine."

"Zero, go get someone," Yuki says.

"No, you go," Zero commands.

Yuki doesn't refuse and leaves in a hurry. Zero stays by my side, but when I look at him, he looks sad and angry.

"So you know her," Zero says in his impatient tone.

"What does it matter to you? I'm sure all vampires know who she is," I say acting calm. I don't trust him enough yet to tell him I know her personally.

"You've seen her. I can tell," he says without any reason.

"And? Have you?" I ask.

"Does it matter?" he says with a sad look.

That's when it hits me. She attacked him. I could just tell it was him. He _hates_ vampires, and apparently I remind him of her.

"I'm sorry," I say.

"For what?" he asks.

"She's cruel, isn't she? Kills without a reason."

"What did she do to you?"

Zero helps me sit up. Now that I know who he is, sort of, I think I can tell him.

"Zero, can you keep quiet?" I ask, hoping he will.

"Yeah, why? Is it bad?"

"She killed my family. But first you have to know something else. I wasn't always aware of vampires."

"But you-"

"Let me finish. You'll understand more when I do. I grew up with humans, like you and Yuki. I had two sisters and one brother. I didn't even know who Shizuka was until my father told me to watch out for her. He said she had escaped prison and was dangerous. I of course didn't think someone so beautiful could be evil, but I was wrong. She came to my house on a snowy night. It was my birthday. I was turning six and we were going to have this elaborate party." I pause. The memory was hard to remember. I haven't thought about my past since it happened.

"Are you OK?" Zero asks.

I look up at him. I let a single tear fall, and I continue. "I had gone into town with my oldest sister to get some last minute things. When we were walking back to our home, I noticed some sakura blooming. I didn't know that Shizuka-" I don't finish what I am going to say. Yuki comes back with Kaname and Hanabusa. I can't tell them or they might treat me like I'm toxic.

"Rose, are you alright?" Kaname asks. Hanabusa doesn't come near me.

"I'm fine Kaname," I say.

Kaname walks over and helps me stand. Hanabusa still stands at a distance. Apparently it is too late for toxic. But I'm just over reacting. It's probably because Zero is so close.

"What happened?" Kaname asks.

"Um, uh, well…" I couldn't tell him it was the mention of Shizuka. He'd kill me.

"I asked her if she knew who Shizuka Hio was," Zero says bluntly.

"Oh. Is that right?" And now Kaname is mad. Shit.

"Uh, yeah, that's about it." I laugh just a bit. Then I look at Kaname's face and wish I had never come here.

"Well, then I suppose you are curious why this happened," Kaname says.

"No, anyone would act like that if they knew what she did," Zero says. He glares at Hanabusa for a moment, and then he walks away. "Keep her out of the sun; it might give her a sun burn."

That ticks me off. Even though I know he is just trying to cover up for me. "How dare you, you jerk! I don't get burned. Besides, I'm the most-"

"Be quiet Rose," Kaname says.

"Bite me." Then it cross my mind _who_ I am talking to and _what_ he is capable of.

"You sure?" Kaname had a smile on his face. Not the sweet kind, but the creepy, psychotic, sadistic kind.

"No, no, please no," I beg. I even get down on my knees because he would if he wanted to.

"Hey Kaname, you know that's against school rules," Yuki says.

Kaname looks at her and smiles the "sweet" smile. "I wouldn't bite her. It would be shameful to go against headmaster Cross's pacifism."

"Suck up," I whisper.

"Heard that," he whispers in my ear.

I freeze. I look to my left and see his face. I don't remember him getting so close. He looks me in the eye, (still wearing his sadistic smile) and then he straightens up. I am a little scared, but I can handle him, maybe…

"Time to go Rose," Kaname says.

"But I wanna stay with Yuki," I whine.

"Yuki has things to do, Rose. Besides, you don't understand enough of the rules to go with someone."

"I can teach her," Yuki says.

Kaname pauses. I pray so hard he lets me go with her. If not, I'll just hide from him or something.

"No, I don't think-"

"PLEASE!" Yuki and I both say.

He stumbles with his words and facial expressions. How can he say no to sweet Yuki? _Ha! Sucker!_

"All right. But you better be on your best behavior," he warns.

"N'kay," I say and pull on Yuki's arm.

I don't look back at Hanabusa. I know he is probably hurt, but I can't stand Kaname. We meet up with Zero and start walking with me leading.

"Why did you want to stay with Yuki?" Zero asks.

"Because I don't wanna get my butt chewed out for walking around by myself," I mutter.

"I bet Hanabusa said something," Zero says, completely forgetting I was dating him. I let it slide though because he is probably right.

"Well, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that I don't see Kaname at the moment."

We walk for a while, just in complete circles. They don't mind. But all of a sudden, Cross comes out of nowhere again.

"Oh, there you two are. I've been looking for you. I thought you were at the fountain last, but you weren't when I looked. Hello Rose," Kaien says politely.

"Hello Kaien. You seem happy," I say as I bow, and wonder yet again where he came from.

"He's always like this," was Zero's comment.

I giggle, but to myself.

"I have an errand for you." Kaien gives them an envelope. "This is very important. Get it in the mail before three o'clock."

"But it's just eleven," Yuki says.

"Then you can spend the rest of the day in town if you want."

I feel lonely now. What am I going to do all day long without Yuki? I watch him walk off. Then Zero yells, "Can Rose come with us?"

Kaien stops and turns around. "Well, why couldn't she?"

That was a definite yes. "Oh, thank you so much Kaien," I say cheerfully.

"You can go anywhere with them. You don't even have to ask." He walks away and we head for town. This ought to be fun.


	5. Encounter In Town

When we get to town, Yuki pulls out the envelope. "Ok, so we have to drop this off by three. Lets do that first."

"Who's it for?" I ask without thinking.

"Nosy. If he wanted us to know he would have told us," Zero says.

"Oh, sorry. So, what are we gonna do all day?" I ask.

No one answers me. Was it a bad question? Or maybe they just didn't hear me. All I know is that they keep me in their sight. If I walk off to look at something, they are right behind me. Oh well, no one trusts me. They will eventually, right? Or maybe they don't want me to get lost. I don't know, but it sure is fun in town!

"Alright, we are here," Yuki says.

I'm thinking too much and Zero has to stop me because I am just walking mindlessly. She puts the letter in the mailbox and we start to walk yet again.

"So, what do you wanna do?" I ask hoping to find an answer.

"Hmm, lets get something to eat real quick," Yuki suggests.

I am hungry. I don't argue, but Zero doesn't want to. No one listens to him complain though.

"Oh, that was _soooo_ good," I say as we leave the café.

"Yeah, I love coming here," Yuki replies.

"I still wanted to-"

"For once Zero shut up," she yells.

Zero shuts up. We walk and shop and talk for a few hours. When I look at the church clock, it is already one. "Wow, we've still got two more hours."

"Really?" Yuki asks.

Not paying attention, I look off to an alley and see a cat. "Oh, hey it's a kitty!" I yell. I run off after the cat, but Zero and Yuki are both yelling at me to stop. But I can't help it, I just _adore_ cats. Especially white and black ones.

When the cat finally stops running, I sit down beside it and pick it up. I pet it and hug it, but it decides to scratch me. I let it go and look around, ignoring my cut. "Oh crap. I'm lost," I say to myself. I don't see Zero or Yuki anywhere. Then I hear the cat hissing at something. I look at it and see a man standing there. "Um, hello. Can I help you?" I ask, a little frightened.

"Are you lost?" the man asks with an eerie voice.

"Um, just a little, but I can find my way around easily," I lie.

He walks closer to me. There was something about him that I sort of remember. My thoughts are clouded and I can't think of what he reminds me of, though.

"Are you hurt little one?" he says standing beside me now.

"Um, it's just a scratch," I say.

"ROSE!" someone screams.

I look up and see Yuki and Zero standing at a distance. And Zero has a gun out. What's going on?

"Get away from her," Zero says. His face is serious, and his finger is ready to pull the trigger.

"Wait Zero, he was just trying to hel-"

The man grabs my hair and pulls me up. I cry out in shock and pain, and I don't know what is going on. I just know he isn't what he let me think he was and that I am extremely stupid.

"Do you want her to die?" the man asks.

"Let her go," Zero says.

Then it hits me. That is no ordinary gun, it's his _Bloody Rose_ ; a vampire hunter gun. So does that mean this person is a vampire? I look up as much as I can and see fangs.

"Rose, don't move," Zero orders.

"Wha-what's going on?" I ask.

"She's mine. I'll finally be normal again with her blood," the man says.

I can feel his mouth getting closer to my neck. Then his breath, and his lips… "Someone help me!" I yell.

_BANG!_

His grip is gone. I fall. I smell blood. Did Zero shoot him or me?

"…Rose, can you hear me? Rose?"

I open my eyes. Yuki is in front of me calling my name. I can hear her, but I don't know what to say. I look around and notice I'm propped up against the wall. I look behind Yuki and see Zero standing over clothes and dust. He _did_ kill him. But why did he want my blood? I'm not that special.

"Are you okay?" she asks again.

"Uh-huh," I say. "Why did he want my blood? Who is…was he?"

Zero looks back at me as if I'm stupid. I can't really argue with that. "You know nothing about vampires, do you."

"I know the important things," I say, a little insulted.

"He was a Level E. Do you know what that is?" Zero stares at me for a moment and puts his gun back in his jacket.

"Aren't they people who have been bitten by purebloods and have lost complete control?" I half ask half say.

"Correct, but not people, vampires. Who are your parents?" he asks.

"Hell, I don't know," I say angrily.

"Wait, you don't know who your parents are?" Yuki asks.

"No, some hunter killed my family in front of me," I say as a cover up. She saddens just a bit and I knew I shouldn't have said that, but I can't tell her. I stand up and walk over to the dust pile. "Why did he want my blood?" I ask Zero.

"You are a pureblood. Some Level E's think if they drink the blood of any pureblood vampire, it will save them. Or he knew something about you that you don't know."

I think for a moment about what it could be that I don't know, but I can't think of anything. All that I can think of is that he wanted me, not Yuki or Zero, (or the cat…) but me. Just my blood. I hope I don't meet any other Level E vampires. They scare me. They remind me of…Shizuka.

"Hey, we better be going back. It's almost three," Yuki says behind me.

I turn around and follow them back to town. I must have taken several turns because it takes us a good fifteen minutes to get out of there. When we get to town, we leave and head back to school. All of a sudden Zero stops us.

"What's wrong?" Yuki asks.

"Something isn't right." Zero looks around.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"I don't know. Something just seems unsettling."

Whatever it was, we never found it. But Zero doesn't relax until we get back. That's when Hanabusa shows up.

"Oh, hey Hanabusa," I say cheerfully. I run over to hug him, but he just pushes me away. I am shocked. "Wha-what's wrong Hanabusa?"

"You spent the day with _him_? I thought we were going to spend some time together." He looks like a sad little puppy that someone just abandoned. And I'm the abandoner.

"She spent the day with me Hanabusa. Zero didn't have a choice but to go," Yuki says trying to help.

"You don't think I didn't follow you," Hanabusa says angrily. Now I know what Zero sensed before, it was Hanabusa. "I know what happened. If you want to be with-"

"Stop right there Hanabusa. I can be friends with whomever I want. I can date whomever I want, which is you. So I don't know what your problem is." I stare at him for the longest before he says a word.

"Fine."

Hanabusa starts to walk off, but I grab his hand. "But are we still together?" I ask.

He looks back at me with a sad smile and says, "Of course. I'd never leave you." I let go of his hand and watch him leave.

"Hmm, I don't think I've ever seen Hanabusa like this," Yuki says.

"What do ya mean?" I ask.

"Well, Hanabusa has always hated Zero and he wouldn't want anything to do with anyone who has something to do with Zero."

I stare at her like a blank page.

"She means that he wouldn't still date you since you hang around me," Zero says making more sense.

"Oh, I see… But I've never known him to be like that. He's always been so kind to me," I say.

"Yeah, he's only like that to girls. I hate him and he hates me," Zero says getting agitated.

"Maybe if you tried to be nice he'd be nice to you," I say trying to make things a bit easier.

"Um, Rose, I don't think-"

Before Yuki can finish, Zero pulls his gun out and aims it at me. "Listen, I know you love him and everything, but I _hate_ vampires period. Nothing will ever change that!"

I watch his movements closely. If I antagonize him, he might just shoot me.

"Zero, put your gun away," Yuki says pushing it down.

"Tell me Zero. You know about my past. Not all of it, but enough. Would you shoot me, even though you know?" I ask.

"Just because I know, doesn't mean you wouldn't change in an instant and kill," he says.

"Zero, please stop. I beg you Zero, stop!" Yuki cries.

Zero finally drops his weapon, but he doesn't put it up. He must have a heart, or I would already be dead.

"Stay away from us Rose," he says. "If you don't, I'll kill you the next time I see you."


	6. The Gun

"Zero!" is all Yuki can say. It is all Zero would let her. He drags her away from me. I start to cry. Vampires don't cry, but I am not cold hearted like the rest of them.

"Your wrong Zero," I yell at him.

"No, you are all the same, no matter how different you were raised," he says.

He continues to walk away, but I continue to talk. "I am different. I refuse to take part in their actions. I will never fall to their level."

Zero stops and turns around. He looks at me as if I were a murderous monster that he plans to kill. Or rather a vampire hunter staring down a vampire.

"Don't play that game. Once you've tasted blood you vampires can never stop until your dead," Zero says with disgust.

"But I haven't," I say, still crying. I can barely see his face, but he doesn't seem to believe me. "If you don't believe me Zero, ask Kaname."

He still stands there, watching me. I finally give up on trying to make things better. I just lie down on the grass and cry. I know if I go to Hanabusa he'll just look at me with the same eyes as Zero and say 'I told you he was no good.' I look at the sky through my tears, and pray that Yuki can make him understand. But then, Yuki doesn't know what Zero does.

I slam my hand against the ground in frustration. Then a shadow blocks the sunlight that was in my face. I open my eyes and see Kaien Cross standing there.

"What the hell do you want?" I ask, sitting up and wiping the tears off my face. I look and see Zero and Yuki are gone.

"I'm sorry for the way he acts. He can never be friends with a vampire. His past haunts him too much for that to happen. I thought it might change though, if he knew you were attacked by Shizuka as well."

I look at him. "But I was already a vampire. He was just attacked."

"His family was killed as well," Cross says putting his hand out.

I take it and he helps me up. Such a polite man, yet odd and confusing at times (and weird). "I already know about him, sort of. Kaname told me that the only living family member was attending this school." I sigh, then I say, "Maybe I shouldn't have told him anything."

Kaien wipes away new tears and pats my cheek. "He was bitten by Shizuka, Rose."

"What?" I am completely shocked to find that out. I never once thought he was a vampire. Although that would explain the tattoo and why he makes me think about Shizuka every time I look into his sad eyes. "But how long has it been? Since he was bitten I mean."

"Four years. He's strong. But that is why he hates vampires," he says . He sighs a big sigh and looks toward the sky.

"Four years is a long time. But why does this affect me?" I ask.

Kaien looks back at me. "Because you were also attacked by her."

"And?"

"You weren't hurt like he was. You were already a vampire. He has to suffer. If you want to know the truth, he's jealous."

"Jealous? Jealous!? What the hell is he jealous about? Being a vampire is hell, simple as that. And when you're a pureblood, everyone expects so much from you it's sick!" I scream.

"Is that why you left?"

I look behind Kaien to see Kaname standing there. He was leaning on a tree. "Yes, it is Kaname. Happy now?"

Kaien steps to his left to cover me and looks at Kaname. "I thought I told you to let me handle it."

Kaname looks back at him. "You are simply human. You don't understand everything about vampires and how they feel. Especially Rose."

"Wait, just for your information Kaname, you don't understand me either. If you did, you would have known why I left."

No one says a word. We just all stare at each other. We don't know what to say. Or at least I don't. When I'm angry, it's best to shut up. But since no one is saying anything, I'll just say something else.

"What the hell are you both doing here?" I ask.

They both look at me. "Trying to help you," Cross says.

"With what?" I ask.

"You are stupid," Kaname says.

"What did you say?" I ask very irritated.

"You don't seem to understand what you've gotten yourself into." Kaname straightens up and walks over to me. "Zero is going to turn into a Level E sooner or later and he envies you. He will die whether he wants to or not and you will live on as if nothing happened."

"What do you mean he'll die?" I ask.

"You saw what happens to a Level E. Vampire hunters hunt them Rose. Even if it is someone they care dearly about." Kaname puts his hand on my shoulder and leans close to my ear. "You both were attacked, but only one of you will live to tell the tale."

I realize what he means now. Zero will die because he was human and was bitten by a pureblood. He'll turn into a vampire lusting for blood, just like the one he killed earlier. "Why didn't he tell me he was bitten by her?" I ask.

"He's been told to keep quiet. You can't tell anyone. Yuki already knows, though. She found out the hard way," Cross says.

"What do you mean?" I ask looking at him.

Kaien's eyes are cold and sad. "Zero bit her one night because he lost control."

"How long ago?" I ask.

"Why does it matter?" Kaname asks.

"It was a month ago," Cross says.

"If he was bitten by Shizuka, and he tasted blood, then he isn't going to last more than a year," I say looking at the ground.

"And how the hell would you know?" Zero says, coming out of hiding, but Yuki isn't with him.

"Zero, what are you doing here?" Cross asks, stepping in front of me.

I see a flash of light, and I knew he had his gun out. That's why Kaien stepped in my view.

"Go back to your dorm, Zero," Cross orders.

"No, move Kaien," I say, pushing him out of my way. Sadly, I had to go around him since he wouldn't move.

"No, stay behind-"

"Let her go if she wants to," Kaname says to Cross.

"The only reason I know is because he told me. I didn't get to finish my story, so you don't know what she told me. But I-"

"Shut up Rose. I don't care what she said. You are a vampire, my enemy, and I plan on killing _all_ vampires before I die. Including you!" Zero says pointing his gun at me.

"Zero, don't shoot," Cross says.

Zero stares at him. I look into his eyes and see nothing but hate. It frightens me to see him like this. Just a few hours ago we talked and had fun. What happened?

"Rose, don't you ever talk about me like you know who I am. You know nothing about me," Zero says.

"Same with you. I just met you." I take a few steps closer to Zero and Kaname grabs my shoulder.

"Don't, Rose," Kaname says.

"Let me go Kaname," I say and push his hand away.

I walk closer, knowing if he shoots it's lights out for me. But he needs to know that I don't wanna hurt him.

"If you take one more step I'm going to kill you," Zero says. His aim is perfect since he didn't hit me earlier. But I ignore his warning.

"Zero, please listen to me. I have nothing against you. I can understand your hate towards vampires-" Just as I say that, he pulls the trigger back just a little to prove he will kill me. But even though I'm scared, I've come too far to surrender now. "-but I'm not the enemy."

"Then why did she let you live?" Zero asks.

"I don't know. Honestly, I wish she would have killed me with my family," I say.

"They weren't your family. You aren't human!" he screams.

"But they were all I had!" I yell back at him. "I knew nothing of vampires 'till she came. You think you have it hard, put yourself in my shoes. I haven't the slightest idea why she let me live, or what the hell she's got in store for me. I don't know anything." I start to cry again. But I force myself to stop enough to see his gun and movements.

"Yeah, well I am turning into a Level E. You already know what happens to them. I can't live a normal life anymore thanks to her. And I can't let you live because you are a pureblood like she is," he says straightening his gun.

"Zero, don't," Cross yells.

"Let him. If he wants to kill me, let him," I say looking at Cross. I look back at Zero and say, "But I don't die easily. So shoot if you want. I'll let you try."

Zero doesn't hesitate. He pulls the trigger immediately. I see it coming for me, almost like it's in slow motion. I see my life pass before my eyes, and I remember what I am capable of.


	7. Wonderful News

I see it coming for me, almost like it is in slow motion. I see my life pass before my eyes, and remember what I am capable of. The bullet is just a few feet away from my chest. I watch it come closer ever so slowly. Then, just as it is six inches away from my heart, I move to my right and completely dodge it. I look at Zero and smile.

Zero is in shock. "How the hell did you dodge it when it was that close?" he asks furiously.

"I told you Zero, I don't die easily. I survived on my own for four years. I lived on anything I could find. I lived in the woods for the longest. I know how to take care of myself. And I know how to dodge things aimed at my heart."

"You really are a vampire," he says.

"No, I'm just forced to be a vampire," I say. I walk a little forward, and he puts his gun up again. "Zero, put your gun down. Stupid, I'm not gonna hurt you. I've got no reason to," I say.

"I tried to kill you and now your being nice? How dumb do I look?" he asks.

I continue to walk towards him, trying to get close enough to put his gun to the side. "Oh, let me remind you I'm not like everyone else. If I wanted you dead, I'm sure you would already be dead."

"A threat?"

"What? No, it isn't a threat Zero. I'm just trying to be friends with you!" I yell.

"Friends? You want to be…friends?"

Zero's gun sways back and forth, as if my words are a foreign language to him. "Isn't that what I've been saying since I first met you? I am not an evil person," I say.

"Person?" It's almost like he isn't sure what I'm saying, or can't make sense of it.

"Uh-huh. I'm more human than I am vampire. Like I said, I would have rather died then know I was a vampire. I'm not the bad guy." I am close enough to push his gun towards the ground. Thankfully he doesn't fight.

"I'm sorry Rose," Zero says.

"Don't be. I don't know your story and you don't know mine. I'm surprised you didn't do this earlier," I say with a smile. He looks at me with sad eyes. "What's up with everyone and sad eyes. It makes me sad when my friends are sad. Except for Kaname. He's just on his own," I say. I am still smiling, hoping he will too.

"I don't understand you. After I tried to kill you, you still want to be friends with me. You really are different than the others." He smiles a half smile. Then he looks behind me and his smile fades. I decide to look as well and see what made him frown. It was just Kaname. Jerk.

"So, can we act like this never happened?" I ask, turning back around.

"If you can that's great, but it is more than likely unforgettable," Cross says looking at Zero. "Maybe you can be buddies and stick together."

"I said I was sorry and we could be friends, but nothing more," Zero says. "Besides, she and I aren't even in the same class. There would really be no point."

Zero leaves and I stand and watch him walk away. I don't know what to do. Kaname and Kaien both leave and go after him. It is getting late and it will be time for the night class to come out. Me, I'd rather be out during the day, but I don't have a choice now.

I start to walk back to the moon dorm. I walk as slowly as possible and decide that I'll just go to my room and go to bed. Maybe no one will bother me and just let me sleep. Hopefully anyway. But I can already tell that I won't get to sleep when I see a bunch of girls screaming for the night class to come out for no reason.

That is when I see Yuki standing there pushing them all back. I decide to go help her since Zero isn't around. Just out of the kindness of my heart, which I do have.

"Hey, could all of you girls please go back to your dorm rooms. We can't get our beauty rest and look our best with all of your pretty faces around. They take all the beauty from our faces and then we look awful. You don't want that to happen, do you?" I ask as sweet and innocent as I possibly can.

They don't even give an answer before they run back towards the day class dorms. I even have to jump out of their way so they didn't kill me. Seeing as how clumsy I am though, I trip and fall. But sweet-hearted Yuki helps me to my feet.

"Thanks Yuki," I say as I dust the dirt off of my dress.

"No problem," Yuki says. "Hey, have you seen Zero? I went to my dorm and I didn't see him go to his. I get worried about him sometimes. But you can't help it. I mean, if I were to let Zero just wonder about by himself he might get into trouble."

"I think he was talking to headmaster Cross. You might check and see if he is there," I say trying to be of some help since I really don't know where he went after he left me.

"Ok, thanks."

We wave goodbye and she runs off. I go into the gate and walk into the building. The first person I see is Hanabusa sitting on the couch drinking tea. I walk over and sit down beside him.

"Hey, Hanabusa. You still mad at me?" I ask as I lay my head on his left shoulder.

Hanabusa sets his tea down and pats my head. "I can't be mad at you for long Rose. You are too sweet to be hated."

We sit here for what seems like forever. I really don't mind though. I love him. But then Kaname walks out of nowhere and I sit up.

"What are you doing here, Kaname?" I ask.

"If you want to make-out, go to your room. And this is the moon dorm. I'm suppose to be here," Kaname says in a bratish tone.

"Maybe we will make-out right here," I say.

Kaname stops walking and looks at me. "I bet you don't even know how."

I am shocked. Not because he guessed right, but because he even bothered.

"I-I do know thank you," I say.

"Then do it."

"Your watching. It's wired if you watch," I say quickly.

"Wait, you really don't know how to kiss, Rose?" Hanabusa asks me.

I can't look at him now. My whole face is a bright shade of red. What am I suppose to say?

"You mean for the whole six months you've been dating-"

"It's been three years jerk," I say.

"Well that's even worse, but my point is you haven't kissed. That is sad. I can't believe you, Hanabusa, hadn't made the first move in the first week."

Kaname walks off and leaves Hanabusa and me alone in an awkward silence. I look at him and he looks at me.

"So, um, what do we, um…"

Without another word, Hanabusa wraps his arms around me and pulls me in close to him. And the next thing I know, we were in kissing. It was nice. It was warm and sweet. A little weird, but I have never kissed anyone before. He lets me go and keeps me close to his face, sort of like in the same way I was just moments ago, just not kissing.

"Well, now you can't say you've never kissed anyone before," Hanabusa says.

I giggle uncontrollably and place my head where his neck meets his left shoulder. "Yeah, I guess you are right."

"Are you blushing?" he asks me as he tries to see my face.

I bury my face in his chest and say, "Nooooo. Maybe…"

We talk for a little while, and kiss a time or two more, before Ichijo suddenly runs down the stairs and stands in front of us.

"What were you two doing?" Ichijo asks in a breathless voice.

We look at each other and say, "Nothing," and giggle once more.

Ichijo looks confused and worried at the same time.

"Ichijo, what's wrong?" I ask him.

"My grandfather is coming and will be here any minute. I think it would be best if the two of you went somewhere else before he gets here," Ichijo says in a hurried tone.

I stand up and start to walk up the stairs when the front doors swing open. I freeze where I am standing. The thing I did not know about Ichijo, other than the fact he and Kaname are friends (YUCK!), was that his grandfather was the one man I actually hated more than I hate Kaname; Ichio.

"Grandfather, how are you?" Ichijo says and bows.

"Hello grandson. Hello to you as well Hanabusa Aido." Ichio glances up at me and I feel afraid. The last time I met him was in a forest at night. He had tried to convince me to live with him, but I refused intently. I wanted to get away from vampires as much as possible. He wanted to make me his little pureblood pet. Just like spoiled Kaname.

"Hello Ichio," I say.

"Hello Rose. How are you?"

I am the only one he has asked that. "Fine." I walk over to Hanabusa and grab his arm because I am not sure what Ichio will do.

"I had been told you were coming to school here and I wanted to see how you were doing," Ichio says.

"I'm still alive if that's what you wanted to know. I can take care of myself. I may have only lived fifteen years, but I can handle any situation I am put through," I say irritably.

"Any situation that doesn't involve humans," he says with a smirk.

"Grandfather, if you want to talk to Rose you will have to come back. She has to talk to Kaname about some rather important things," Ichijo says.

I glare at him for a moment, but I realize that he is only trying to help.

"I came to tell her some news I found out about her family. But if she is busy…"

"Wait! You know about my family?" I ask hysterically.

"Yes. Would you like to hear?"

I don't even answer, instead I lead him into the lounging area, a room that I expect had just been added on, and shut the door. I sit on one side of the room, he on the other. I look at him anxiously to hear about my family.

"As you know, Shizuka Hio is a pureblood vampire. She wants you for something, yet you know not of what. And here you are, still breathing and walking around."

"Please get to the point Ichio," I say bluntly.

Ichio clears his throat and continues. "She needs you for a project you might say. We are not sure what she needs you for, but we think there might be other vampires involved."

I stare at him. "Is that it? That is all you had to tell me?! I could figure that out on my own," I say as I get up.

"That is not all. Your family died except for one. _She_ is still living. Would you like to know where she is?" Ichio asks me tauntingly.

I sit back down and ponder his proposition. "But no one in my so-called family is even my real family. What would be the point of knowing where she is?" I ask.

"Because she is in fact a vampire. A pureblood vampire. Your only sibling in this entire world. I will ask one more time, would you like to know where she is Rose?"

"Yes, I would like to know," I say without any real emotion. I know if I let him see them then he will enjoy the sure fact that his information was of great use to me, and I can _NOT_ allow him to see me like that.

"Good. Now listen carefully. She will be arriving in town at five o'clock tomorrow morning. She will first come here to meet Kaname Kuran, the noblest pureblood known to all vampires. You can either wait 'till then or you can meet her at the airport."

"What is her name?" I ask.

"Her name is Sky. She looks just like you. She is no doubt your twin."

I look at him in shock. _A twin? I have a twin? Amazing!_ "Thank you Ichio, but I will not live with you."

"I suspected as much," he says and starts to get up.

We leave the room and I bow to him in thanks and run over to Hanabusa. When he leaves, I kiss Hanabusa and say, "Guess what Hana, I have a twin sister!" I say with joy.

Hanabusa gives me a shocked expression and says, "You mean there is another you running around the world somewhere?"

"Yep. And I'm am going to sneak out in the morning to see her. Wanna come?"

His look is murder. His words are ice. "You can't sneak out. It is against school rules to leave the grounds."

"Le' me guess, Kaname will kill me if he catches me? Well he won't catch me. Even if you don't go, I will." I give him my best puppy dog face and look him in the eye.

Hanabusa finally sighs in defeat and says, " All right Rose. I'll go with you, but Ichijo," he says looking over his shoulder at him, "Not a word to Kaname-sama."

"I will go with you if that makes it any easier," Ichijo says with a smile.

"No, he will ask too many questions if you are gone." Hanabusa looks at me once more and says, "Get some rest and I will come and get you later."

I run up the stairs and try to find my bedroom. Total failure. I mean how many rooms are there in this stupid building? After at least ten failures, I find my room and I lay down on my bed. I drift off into sleep and dream of my sister that I have never seen…


	8. Hatred For Kaname

"Rose, you awake?" someone asks.

"Huh-?" I open my eyes and see Hanabusa standing over me. "Oh, hey Hanabusa. Is it time?" I ask.

"Yes, now get dressed and lets get going."

I jump off of my bed and head for my closet. I look through it and find my favorite outfit; a black long sleeved shirt with holes at the end of each sleeve for my thumb to go through, a pair of boot-cut jeans, and high heeled combat boots.

I change into them (I rushed Hanabusa out of my room first) and we leave. It isn't quiet light out, but it isn't dark either. We sneak all the way to the gates and quickly leave the grounds. It is only about four or so as we walk to town. I look at Hanabusa constantly and he looks right back.

"Hey Hana, why is it you are afraid of Kaname?" I ask.

"I am not afraid of him. I just simply highly respect him," Hanabusa replies.

I just about fall to the ground. "You _respect_ **him**? Of all people, you respect him? That dirty, spoiled rotten piece of shit?" I look at his face and see he is a little pissed, or even furious.

"What has he ever done to you?" Hanabusa asks me.

"You wanna know what he did to me? I'll tell you. When my family died when I was six he took me in. I was, and still am, grateful for that, but I hate the way they all treated him. He was everyone's special little boy. I am a pureblood as well, but they treated me like I was their maid or something. I never got anything. Nothing. I had finally had enough and I left. And after a year of all that survival stuff I met you."

Hanabusa apparently wasn't expecting that. He was quiet the rest of the trip. We finally walk into the airport building five minutes before five and wait for Sky's arrival.

After ten minutes pass, I see her walking towards us. "Hanabusa, do you have the sign?" I ask.

"The one with her name on it? Yeah, I got it," Hanabusa says as he gets it out of the backpack he brought along.

Hanabusa holds it in the air hoping to get her attention. And it works. She runs over to us and I practically freak out. Her hair was dyed pink and wore the exact same outfit as me, just pink instead of a black. We stare at each other in complete amazement.

"Are you Sky?" I ask.

"Yes, but why do you look like me?" she asks hesitantly.

"Just come to the café with us and we will explain," Hanabusa says.

"All right."

"So you are my sister. And we had the same family, but we don't remember each other. And our family was killed by Shi-"

"Don't say her name. There is no telling how many V's are around," I say quickly.

"V's?" Hanabusa asks.

"Stupid. Us, we are V's."

"Oooohh."

I slap my forehead and continue to talk. "I know you came here to talk to Kaname, but I wish you wouldn't."

"Why?" Sky asks.

"She hates Kaname and wants the rest of the world to feel the same way," Hanabusa says quickly.

"Not true," I say and jack-slap him. "Although that doesn't sound like a bad idea." He cradles his head and I say, "You are a jerk sometimes Hana."

"Hey, if you are my sister, then why have we never met?" Sky asks getting up. I get up as well, pulling Hanabusa up with me, and we start to walk home.

"I guess after she killed our adopted family, we were sent different ways. Do you remember any of them?"

"I remember all of them but you," she says.

"Same here. Maybe we weren't supposed to meet. It might ruin her plans." We walk the remainder of the trip in silence. We get to the front gate and Kaname Kuran is waiting for us.

_Damn Kaname. How did you figure it out?_

"Rose, how dare you leave the school grounds without permission," Kaname says in his devil impersonation.

"Whatever Kaname. You can kiss my ass. I had to find my sister before you did 'cuz I might not have gotten to see her otherwise," I say just as evil.

"Wait, you snuck out of school?" Sky asks.

"Well, I had to. Kaname doesn't trust-"

"I do trust you," Kaname says, interrupting me. "That is why I haven't told headmaster Cross yet. If he finds out that you snuck out, you will have to leave."

 _Does he think I care?_ "Kaname, you are no longer the boss of me. I don't care if you are older, I don't have to listen to-"

"Rose, shut up!" Hanabusa yells.

I look at him. His face is blood red. "Hanabusa, are you ok?" I ask, a little scared.

"You can't talk to him like that. I won't allow it any longer! He is a noble pureblood. He doesn't deserve to be treated the way you are treating him!" he yells at me.

I stare at him. "Hana-Hanabusa, please tell me you are just messing with me," I say as a tear falls down my face.

"I'm not. I don't want you to get me wrong, we will always be together, but you will have to learn to respect purebloods, Rose."

"You jackass!" I scream. I slap his face and I run off. I can hear Hanabusa yelling for me to stop, but I won't ever speak to him again if that's how he thinks. I run to the fountain and I put my head under it. I pull back after a few minutes and see a shadow behind me. I turn around and see Zero standing there.

"Are you alright Rose?" Zero asks as he sits on the edge of the fountain.

I look at him. "Zero, why is it everyone thinks so highly of Kaname, but I get treated like dirt?" I sit down on the ground and lay me head down on his leg and cry while he pats my back.

"I don't know. I wish he would just die or go away, but there is someone I lo…I care about that thinks otherwise," he says.

"Same here," I say.

"What happened?" Zero asks.

"Zero, you promise you won't hate me after I tell you?"

"Depends on what it is."

I look at him. "I snuck out of the school early this morning to see my twin sister at the airport."

"Your twin sister?" Zero has this shocked face. I love the fact that I snuck out is oblivious. I stand up and sit beside him on the fountain.

"Yeah, I have a twin. I snuck out because I knew she was coming to see Kaname, and I didn't want to lose her to him. I wanted her to know she had a sister before Kaname did something horrible and ruined it."

"That would explain why he was so pissed off, saying something about you and Hanabusa disobeying school rules and how Ichijo is horrible about lying to him. Did he leave too?" Zero asks me.

 _Well, at least I know how he found out. Note to self: remember not to tell Ichijo any secrets._ "I asked him to, Zero. But when we got back from the airport and we went to the gate, Kaname was waiting for us. Kaname and I started arguing and Hanabusa yelled at me. He kept saying that I should learn to respect purebloods and that I shouldn't treat 'em that way. I called him a jackass and slapped him and ran off. Zero, will you tell anyone if I leave this place and runaway?"

Zero gives me this evil look. "Yeah, I'll tell. I just started to like you. We have more in common now than before, especially since you hate Kaname. You can't just leave and expect everyone not to notice either. Listen, do you want me to handle it?" he asks.

"No, there isn't anything you can do," I say. I stand up and Zero follows.

"Well, I could talk to Hanabusa for you. Well, I could knock some sense into him anyhow," Zero says.

"No, 'cuz then he'd just hate me," I say. I begin to walk away, but he grabs my arm and stops me. "Zero, what is it?"

"I have an idea. We both have someone who practically worships Kaname, right? Well, maybe if we fake date, then it would make them jealous," he suggests.

"But I can't do that. Zero, I'm talking about Hanabusa. He does that. I can't just breakup with him," I say.

Zero lets go of my arm and looks at me with his usual look. "Here he comes. Better get ready."

I turn around and see Hanabusa walking our way. I can tell this isn't going to end well, but I could hopefully get lucky and he could apologize about being so mean.

"Rose, I have to talk to you," Hanabusa says in a pissed tone as he stands before me. He grabs my arm tightly and starts to pull me away, but Zero grabs my other arm and pulls me away from him.

"Ow!" I yell.

"Hanabusa, don't you dare treat her that way. She has done nothing wrong," Zero says as he pushes me behind him gets in Hanabusa's face.

"What do you mean? You have no right to interfere, Zero Kiryu. And the only thing she did wrong was not suck your blood dry from your veins."

"Hanabusa!" I yell.

"Stay out of this Rose. I'll talk to you later," Hanabusa says.

"No, you need to listen to her Hanabusa. She loves you, but you're screwing it up," Zero yells.

"Zero, what do you think you're-" I try to say.

"I'm helping," Zero says.

"What would she have to say?" Hanabusa asks.

"Listen to her for once and maybe you will find out."

They both stop arguing and look in my direction. _What the hell am I suppose to say?_

"I'm listening, Rose," Hanabusa says impatiently.

"Hana, I just wanted to tell you that…that…" I take a deep breath before I continue speaking. "That I don't like the way you are treating me," I say shyly.

"What do you mean? You were the one who slapped me," Hanabusa argues.

"She also called you a jackass," Zero adds.

 _Not helping._ "Yeah, but only 'cuz you completely ignored the fact that I am a pureblood as well you dumbass," I say.

"What do you mean I-"

"You said I should treat Kaname, which just so happens to be a pureblood, with more respect. You are just like everyone else. You give in to him, but when my needs come along I'm ignored because I have no real family. No one that can even prove that I am a pureblood. You all just care about him. That's all you jerks have ever cared about!" I scream.

No one says anything, and I am so angry that I fall to the ground and cry. I stare Hanabusa down till he can't even look at me.

"Do you understand now?" Zero asks. "You were her world, and you were her escape from it. But you are about to let it go just because of Kaname Kuran. Are you that absorbed in him that you will let the love of your life go?"

Hanabusa looks at Zero. "He was in my life before her," was his reply.

"Hanabusa, please don't," I beg through my tears.

"If the two of you can't get along, then I don't see how we ever will." Hanabusa walks away and Zero leans down to me.

"Rose, are you alright?" Zero asks calmly.

"Why did he ever say he loved me if he knew I hated Kaname?" I ask through tears. There is no answer to my question, but I wish there was.

Zero helps me up and we walk to headmaster Cross's home. We aren't looking for him, instead, we are actually looking for Yuki. She is so nice and I need someone better suited to help me with my problem than Zero is.

I open the door to enter and Yuki comes out. We bump into each other and just about knock ourselves down. I rub my head.

"Rose, what's wrong?" Yuki asks forgetting about her own needs.

"Hanabusa broke up with me because of Kaname," I say flinging myself into her arms and cry. "He didn't like the fact that I hate Kaname and he thought… he thought…"

"Sssshhhhhh. It'll be fine. I'm sure he was just angry," Yuki says. "He loves you too much to-"

"No," I say. "He said Kaname was first. I lost Hana to Kaname, Yuki," I cry.

"He just left her Yuki. He had no heart. I was there," Zero says.

"Did you have something to do with this? He does hate you," Yuki says.

"He didn't, I promise. Yuki, can you talk to Hanabusa for me," I beg.

Yuki pulls back enough for me to see her face. "I can try, but even you know that Hanabusa is stubborn sometimes. Maybe if I ask Kaname to handle it, since he did leave you for him. I don't know, just give me like a day or less and I'll do my best, promise," she says.

She rushes off and Zero and I are left alone. "Are you going to be ok?" he asks.

I think how to respond, but I decide to ignore it and say something else. "I'll go along with your plan Zero. Even if it doesn't get me Hana back, maybe it will get you Yuki," I say.

"How did you know it was Yu-Yuki?" he asks with a chocked voice.

"She is the only girl you ever hang around stupid. Really?"

"Oh…"

We walk back to the fountain and sit for a while in complete silence. Then I see Sky running towards us as if something happened.


	9. Changes

"Sky, what's wrong?" I ask as she reaches us.

Sky pants and tries to speak, but she can't catch her breath.

"Here, sit down," Zero says.

Sky sits down and starts to speak again through pants of breath. "Kana…me said…he said it was…his fault and that he was…he was sorry, Rose," she says at last.

"Sorry for what, making me lose Hanabusa?" I ask.

"Yeah, but he can't…he can't get Hanabusa to listen to him. Kaname wants to know if you want him to say anything specific to Hanabusa."

I think for a moment. I laugh and say, "Tell Kaname that maybe he isn't so bad after all. Ha! And tell him to tell Hanabusa that he wasn't worth that first kiss."

"Rose, are you sure?" Zero asks me.

"No, maybe I should tell him," I say, ponderingly.

"Not what I meant," Zero says.

"No," Sky says. "Let Kaname tell him."

Zero rolls his eyes.

"OK, are you going back?" I ask as she gets up.

"Yeah. You want to come?" Sky asks.

"Hmmm, I do need to get back. I'll come. See ya Zero," I say. I hug him and walk off with Sky. I glance back and see that Zero is standing there blushing. I laugh and I race Sky to the Moon Dorm.

When we get there, Yuki, Kaname, and Akatsuki are standing out in the yard talking. They take notice of us and start to talk to us.

"What happened Rose?" Akatsuki asks.

"You didn't tell him?" I ask Yuki.

"No, I told him. But he doesn't believe me," Yuki says.

"Well, what she told you is true. Hanabusa broke up with me because Kana…" I look at him. I don't know if I should finish the rest or not. I mean, he has tried to help.

"Kana what?" Akatsuki asks.

"Um…" I don't know what to say.

"Kaname, just tell him," Sky yells.

Kaname sighs. "Hanabusa left her because I was in his life first. He feels as though he has to serve me rather than be with her."

Akatsuki is silent. "Are you sure? Is that really what all of this fighting is for?"

"Hey, I didn't start it," I yell. "He started in on all that shit about respecting purebloods. He ignored the fact that I am one myself. He was practically saying I'm nothing to him."

Akatsuki puts his hand to his head and thinks, I think. He moves his hand away after a few minutes and looks me dead in the eye. "Rose, I can't do anything to change it. Neither can Kaname. He is stubborn and won't listen, even if it comes from Kaname. I'm sorry," was all he said before I ran away from all of them. I couldn't help but glance back and notice Hanabusa standing behind a tree…

I stop running after a while. I see that it is getting late, and I really don't want to go back to the dorm. I walk into the school building and make my way to headmaster Cross's office. I knock and then enter.

"Headmaster Cross, can I ask you something?" I ask, peeking around the door.

Cross looks up and gestures to the chair in front of his desk. I shut the door and sit down. I look behind Cross and notice that the window is open.

"Rose, Yuki just told me what happened with you and Hanabusa. I'm sorry it happened that way, but I'm glad that you found your sister," he says with a smile.

"She told you about Sky?" I ask.

"No, Kaname told me. But I already knew she was coming here. It was supposed to be a surprise, but I didn't think about Ichio coming by and ruining it for you."

I sigh. "Sometimes, Kaien, you are a pain."

Cross chuckles. "I'm sorry. But I heard that you and Zero were together. Is that true?" he asks suspiciously.

I glare at him viciously. "Who the hell told you that?!"

"I heard some day class girls gossiping in the hallway. I assume you aren't together because you like Zero, or vise-versa?"

"Yeah, he knows how much I love Hanabusa. He has his own reasons, too," I say. I get up to leave, but Cross gets up as well. "Is something wrong?"

Cross shakes his head. "I want you to stay with Yuki tonight. She shares a dorm with her friend Yori. I'm sure you two can sleep in the same bed. Besides, I don't know how it would be if you saw Hanabusa right now. From what I've heard, Kaname has done everything to make him come to his senses, but he just seems to hate your guts even more. And I want you to go to the day classes from now on. It will be better for you." I don't know what to say. I'm nearly exhausted from today, even though I live in daylight. And it isn't that I don't know what to say, it's just that I can't say anything. I'm just that tired, I guess."Here, I'll take you to her room. I don't think she has left yet."

We leave his office and walk to the day class's rooms. It seems different from when I was here before. I guess I am just waiting for someone to try and kill me, mainly Hanabusa. But I don't have to worry about it. Things will _hopefully_ get better.

We stop at a door and Cross knocks.

"Come in," someone says.

Cross opens the door and walks in. I stay behind because I'm not really sure what to do. He turns and motions me to enter. I walk in and Yuki and, I suppose, Yori are sitting in the floor working on something.

"Yuki, I need Ro…er…um, hold on a sec," Cross says as he turns to me. He cups his hand over my ear and whispers, "I need another name. I'm going to move you to the day class, so give me another name."

I think for a moment. I try to think of something, but nothing comes to mind. I look to Yuki for help, hoping she can understand, maybe…

Yuki jumps up and grabs my arm. "Oh, so this is our new student? OK, yeah she can stay with us. Is that OK Yori?" she asks.

"Well of course. I always like to meet the new girls," Yori says with a smile.

"Well, I'll come and get her tomorrow before classes start. I need to get her a uniform and a schedule. Sleep tight girls," Cross says and leaves.

"So," Yori says as she stands up, "I am Yori Usagi."

"Hello, my name is… Yume Ioh," I say quickly.

"I am Yuki Cross," Yuki says. _Really?!_

"So, when did you get here?" Yori asks me.

"Just about an hour ago. I was supposed to be here earlier, but we got lost and had to ask for directions."

"Well, I'm about to go out on my prefect stuff, do you want to stay or do you want me to show you around?" Yuki asks.

"Um, I would like to see the school," I say. Man is it hard to play the new girl. Gah!

"Well, come on. Oh, Yori-"

"I know, I won't say a word." Yori 'zips' her lips and we leave.

"Man, this is going to be a pain. What if the day class students recognize me?" I whine as we walk around the school.

"Are you sure he's going to put you in with the day class?" Yuki asks.

"He said that it would be better for me to go to the day class since Hanabusa hates my guts. Yuki, do you think he'd kill me?"

"No. If he does, I get permission to kick his sorry ass," Yuki says dramatically.

"Ha! I get seconds," I say. "Oh, wait, if I'm dead then I can't kill him."

"You can come back to life," Yuki says cheerily.

"Yeah. I'll raise the dead along with me and destroy all in my way, right?" I say.

We laugh and laugh and laugh. We laugh 'till we cry and cry until we can't breath. Then I hear a rustling in some bushes behind us and I jump up and shout, "Who's there?"

Yuki stands up and grabs her Artemis rod and holds it out. The person walks out of the bushes and I could just kill him.

"Zero, what the hell are you doing?!" I shout.

"Stop yelling, they can hear you," Zero says as he looks up to the night class's building. We are on the outside of the gate, and hopefully they are on the inside.

"Oh, right," I say. "So, um, is Hanabusa in there?" I ask.

Zero stares at me maliciously. "Why do you care?"

"Zero, she still cares about him. You can't expect her to just forget about him," Yuki protests.

"Yeah, well, that's the past and this is the present. Besides," Zero says with a smirk, "You've got me to protect you."

"What do you mean? You don't hardly even like her," Yuki says.

"Wait, you haven't told her?" Zero asks me.

"Um, no?" I sort of say.

"Tell me what?" she asks.

"That we are, um, dating," I say shyly, _**extremely**_ shyly.

Yuki doesn't say anything for a moment and it kind of scares me. Then, out of nowhere, she hugs us both and says, "I'm so proud of you. You moved on to a much better person."

I glare at Zero, and he glares at me. Our plan isn't working out so well. She lets us go and no one says anything. We just stand around without saying a word for a _long_ time. All of a sudden, someone asks, "Rose, are you doing all right?"

I almost scream, Yuki falls over, and Zero…just stands there like nothing happened.

"Oh, um, yeah Akatsuki. I'm fine. Thanks for askin'," I say as I get a hold of myself.

"Hey, I heard that you and Zero were together now." _Crap, they already found out!_ "Try to keep it on a down low, alright? If Hanabusa-"

"Like I give two shits about him. He left me for Kaname. Besides, I have Zero to protect me now," I say and grab his arm. He stands there for a minute and then pulls away. I glare at him. "Jerk," I mutter under my breath.

"Listen, it was all we could do to keep him from coming after you. I don't know what is wrong with him, but he is pretty pissed."

"She will be fine, Akatsuki. Like she said, Zero is going to protect her," Yuki says. Zero glares at her causing Yuki to hide behind me.

"Listen, I can't stalk him, even though we are together a lot, so make sure that the two of you don't meet during the night, but-"

"Oh, I guess you don't know. Kaien moved me to the day class."

Akatsuki and Zero stare at me. Is that bad?

"Will you be able to hide your secret?" Akatsuki asks.

"Well naw freakin' der stupid. I've hidden it for so long it's like I'm not even one. Now get going before Hanabusa notices your gone," I say as I shoo him away.

"All right, but be careful."

Akatsuki starts to leave, but stops shortly to say, "I just hope you aren't dating him to get Hanabusa back. You know what he thinks of him. It won't do a thing but piss him off."

Akatsuki leaves and I look at Zero. "Well…"

"Well what?" Zero asks.

I sigh and head back to the sun dorm. I don't really know where it is, but I will find it, hopefully…

As I realize that I am lost, I feel something grab my arm. I freeze and slowly look behind me. Thankfully it is just Zero. "What is it you want, Zero?"

"Are we threw?" Zero asks.

I sigh. "No, you still have a chance with Yuki. I won't ruin it just for my sake. Unless you want to?" I ask.

"No," he says. He smiles, I think. _Wait, why the hell did he smile?!_

"Zero, are you OK?" I ask as he lets go of my arm.

"Yeah, but let me take you back to…. Where are you going?"

"To Yuki's room. Kaien wants me to stay with her to be safe."

"Then I'll take you there. I know you don't know where it is," he says with a low laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. Just be nice at fake being my boyfriend, OK?" He doesn't say anything. Oh well, gotta get used to it.


	10. Surprise

Zero and I walk a little ways in silence, my most known company. But then Zero decides to stop and rest on one of the benches out beside the sidewalk. He sits down and I continue to stand because I'm not quite sure what he is doing. He props his elbows on his knees with his head on his hands.

"Rose, do you hate me?" Zero asks.

"No, I don't hate you. Why would you ask that?" I ask.

"You just seem like you'd rather see me dead right now."

"No, it's not you, it's Hanabusa. He's being a total jerk," I say.

"Sit down and let's talk," Zero says.

I sit down, in fear he might try to kill me or something…, and I look up at the sky. The moon is getting closer to being full, and I hate full moons. All the vampires get a little bit more excited than they usually do. Not me though, I just sleep longer. Well, I just sleep all day really.

I look at Zero and his head in now covered by his hands. I shove him gently as in playing, but I don't know what he will do. Suddenly, moves his head up and looks at me. I just about freak out. Not because he's scary or anything, but because he is smiling. _**SMILING!**_

"Wha-what are you doing?" I ask, horrified.

"Hehe, sorry. I thought I would practice smiling. I mean, I can't be cold hearted if I'm with you, right?"

"Hell no, be as cold hearted as you please," I say.

"Why?" he asks.

"Because you freak me out when you smile. It isn't you."

"Well, neither are you," Zero says bluntly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask with a slight twitch under my eye.

"I don't date. Especially vampires."

My eye continues to twitch. "….. Smartass," I say and cross my arms and turn away from him. He grabs my shoulder and pushes me. I guess that's payback for pushing him.

"Come on, let's get you back. You are going to have a big day ahead of you."

Zero gets up and I follow him as we walk back to Yuki's room. When we get there, I open the door quietly and wave goodbye to Zero. He actually waves back. _Practice,_ I think to myself. I shut the door and climb into Yuki's bed. I fall asleep with Zero and Hanabusa on my mind, which isn't to good of a thing.

"Yume, Yume wake up," someone says.

I open one eye and look at them. It is thankfully Yuki. I sit up in the bed and yawn. "Mornin'," I say.

"Good morning," Yuki and Yori both say.

"Oh, I am so sleepy," I say.

"Well, headmaster Cross wants you in his office in about ten minutes, so if I were you I would hurry," Yuki says.

I jump up and head for the door, but I realize that I am wearing the same clothes from yesterday. "Crap, my clothes," I say.

"They are here. Look in my closet," Yuki says.

I rush to her closet and pull something random out. I don't look at it, I just rush out of the door and down the halls to his office. I open the door and find that Kaname, Zero, Akatsuki, and Kaien are standing there talking.

"I, um, I didn't mean to-"

"You didn't interrupt. We were just waiting for you," Cross says.

"Oh…" Lovely, they were waiting for me. Gah! "What is it you want?" I ask.

They don't say anything. They just stare at me. Then I decide to look down and see what they are staring at; it's my clothes. I apparently pulled out one of my more "dressy" clothes. My top is a little stripped tube top, and my pants are almost booty shorts that have holes in them.

I look up at them, my face probably a hundred different colors of red. "Oh, um… I…I…"

Kaien sighs and says, "You can change later. I know you were asleep, but I didn't realize it would take you that long to wake up."

"Heh, sorry," I say. I look at the others and see that even they are blushing. Well, I think Kaname is blushing, I can't really see his face. But I think Akatsuki has a nose bleed, and Zero is turning just as many colors of red as I am.

"Will someone just give me a jacket or something," I say bashfully.

Cross pulls the one off of his chair and hands it to me. I put it on and the others turn around. I see them grab a tissue (yes, even Kaname, the one who doesn't have emotions) and wipe their noses.

"What do you want?" I ask again.

"We are deciding… your fate," Cross says over dramatically.

"My fate to what? Killing you?" I ask. I show my fangs to show how pissed off I am. Cross pushes his glass up and looks to Kaname with a slightly worried face.

"No, not that. _And that wasn't funny either,_ " he adds. "Kaname noticed you weren't in the moon dorm last night and got worried. He came and talked to me, but I told him to come back today."

"So then why the hell are Zero and Akatsuki here?" I ask.

"Because they can help decide," he says with a smile.

I role my eyes and look at Zero. "Are you of all people going to sentence me to death?" I ask jokingly.

"Well, you know I can," was his reply.

I just about fall over.

"Rose, or I guess Yume, do you want to know what they have decided?" Cross asks me.

"Sure, but how did you know it was-"

"Yuki told me. You are going to stay in the day class for now, but if you attack a student, I will send you back to the night class."

I look at them. "You called me in here to tell me that?!" I yell.

"Well, we didn't know you would come in here dressed like a ho, or we wouldn't have," Akatsuki says.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean you jackass!?" I scream.

"Just what I said. But if you were trying to get Zero to notice how big your ass is-"

"AKATSUKI! WHAT THE HELL!" I scream. I slap him across his face and send him to the floor. Everyone else just stands quietly around, not wanting to piss me off even more.

Akatsuki slowly stands up and I notice he is bleeding.

"Akatsuki, I didn't mean to-" I begin.

"I know you didn't. It's my fault. I took it too far as usual," Akatsuki says as he wipes the blood from his mouth.

"Well, now that that is over with," Cross says in a rush, "I need to get you a day class uniform. And you will be staying with Zero in his room instead of Yuki's."

All of us stare at him like he is insane. Well, he must be if he suggested that.

"Well, just for the day I suppose. That would be weird if you two slept in there at the same time."

"You're an idiot," I say under my breath.

"So, the rest of you can go, but you have to stay Rose, er, Yume," Cross says.

Everyone leaves, except for Kaname, and it gets very quiet. I look at him and say, "He said you could leave Kaname. You don't have to stay."

"I wish to stay," Kaname says.

"Can I ask why?"

"Because I don't want you to kill anyone. And don't start on that 'but I'm practically human' crap. It won't work. You aren't used to humans all the time. I know you've never tasted blood before, but now that you are going to be around them more often, I want to make sure it won't bother you."

"Whatever Kaname. It won't affect me. Besides, I hate the smell of blood," I say as a retaliation.

It grows silent for a moment and then I smell something I've not smelled before. It smells sweet and delicious. I look at Kaien and, low and behold, he has a cake on his desk.

"Um, where did that come from?" I ask.

"Oh," Cross says happily, "I thought we could celebrate your first day of school today. Just a little thing I do with all of my children."

I look around to Kaname. He just shrugs his shoulders. _Does he do this often? Calling people his children?_ I just ignore them both. I sit there for maybe fifteen minutes before someone knocks on the door. The door opens and Sky walks in. I jump up and hug her.

"Hey, what's up with you?" Sky asks.

I whisper in her ear, "The way I am dressed."

"What do you mean?"

I uncover my outfit slightly and she laughs her ass off. "What's so funny?"

"You," Sky says. She stops laughing and hands me a package. "This is your uniform, Yume. I've got one too, but it is to the night class."

I look at her. "Why the night class?" I ask.

"Because unlike you, I tend to lean towards the taste of blood. I've not been able to stop myself for a long time. I can't be with the humans, or I might kill one, Yume."

I sigh. "Well, I suppose that's the difference between us. But how are we going to explain how we look alike?" I ask Kaien.

"Simple, say you are twins and everything, just don't mention the fact that the night class is a bunch of vampires, ok?" Kaien says.

"Whatever. So, do I change into this and go to class?" I ask since Sky already left without me.

"Yes, but I need to talk to your teacher first. The person I need hasn't arriv-"

All of a sudden, someone busts through the doors and puts a gun to my head. I freeze as I look at the person. He is wearing a brown coat with an eye patch and a brown hat. He has black hair too.

"Toga, what are you doing?" Kaien shouts.

"Killing a vampire that I am supposed to kill," he says as he pulls the trigger.

Knowing I might die, I use my powers and dodge the bullet. I get behind him and I take a knife from his belt and hold it to his throat.

Toga chuckles. "Nice one, Shizuka."


	11. Sent To Kill

I drop the knife and step away from him. Toga turns around and smiles.

"Toga, she isn't-that isn't-!" Cross tries to say.

"I'm not Shizuka!" I scream.

Toga appears shocked. "But how is she…" He doesn't finish. He looks over to Kaname and puts his gun down. "But how?"

"She was attacked by her Toga, but she is not Shizuka. I have known Yume for a long time," Kaname says.

I look over to him. I'm surprised he used my fake name. Toga looks at me.

"Yume? No, can't be right. She had kids, I know that. You don't look like her, but your presence-"

"Toga, that is enough. I didn't ask you to come here to kill someone. I need you to be a teacher," Kaien says.

"Like before?" he asks.

"Yes."

"Why?"

Kaien looks at me and then back to him. "I need you to watch her."

"Wait, you don't trust me?" I ask.

"No, I trust you. I don't trust other people. I'm afraid more people know that you are here than I thought. If that is so, they will try to kill you."

"Why? What have I done wrong?" I ask.

"Who knows, but if Toga wanted to kill you, then I am glad that I asked him to come here. I don't need you dead. I've grown attached to you," he says with his usual manner of talking.

 _Really?_ I sigh and I look to Toga. "Listen, if ya wanted to kill me, you should have been here yesterday. I wouldn't have stopped you."

"Why? Did you do something?" Toga asks me suspiciously.

"No, but my… Never mind," I say as I walk towards the door. "Just don't think you can kill me so easily. One person has already tried and failed." I open the door and am fixing to walk out when someone grabs onto my arm. I look back and see that it is Kaname. "What do you want?"

"Let me come with you," Kaname says. "I want to-"

"Stalk me? Watch me? Make sure I don't kill someone?" I say aggravated.

"No. I, along with the headmaster, don't want you dead. I want to make sure you don't die." For once, his eyes aren't trying to stare a whole in to me. They are…happy, maybe.

I sigh. "Fine, fine, fine." We leave and walk to the girls bathroom. He stands in front of the door while I change my clothes. I look at myself in the mirror and I decide to put my hair in something other than pigtails. I will actually let my hair down today. I take the hair bands out of my hair and brush it. I walk out of the bathroom and throw my clothes at Kaname.

"So, do I just go to class now or what?" I ask.

"Come with me," he says as we leave.

We walk back to headmaster Cross's office and he throws my clothes at him. Cross doesn't say anything about it though. In fact, he kind of looks at the clothes in a weird way, like they are cute or something. Kaname leaves, and Cross and I are left.

"So, do I get to go to class now?" I ask impatiently.

"Yes," Cross says.

"Yay!" I scream. I jump up and down like a mad man.

"Calm down Yume," he says. "You need to understand something. You will be doing everything that the others are doing, so you need to pay attention."

"OK, will do."

"Now, lets get going," he says.

We walk down the hallway to a class. We enter and everyone is staring at me. Does my hair look bad? Or is it my uniform?

"All right class," the teacher says, which happens to be a guy, and I notice it isn't Toga. "We have a new student. Please introduce yourself," he says to me.

I look at everyone and freeze. I'm not used to this at all. Cross leans over to me and says, "Say your name, sweetie. Don't be scared."

I take a deep breath, trying hard not to slap him, and stand up straight. "Um, my name is Yume Ioh. Pleased to meet you," I say and bow. I blush like mad and I try not to look at anyone in particular.

Kaien leaves, and I feel all alone. The teacher looks at me and I'm sure he can tell that I am nervous, 'cuz I really am.

"Listen," he says as he whispers in my ear, "everyone here is really nice. And to prove it, I'll let everyone take a break from class and let them talk to you. Would that help any?" I nod my head slightly and he starts to talk to the rest of the class. "OK, today instead of class, we will try to make miss Yume feel at home."

All of a sudden, everyone starts to get out of their seats and they run towards me. They start telling me their names, where they live, everything about them. I notice that Yuki and Zero are sitting down watching me. Yuki waves and so does Zero, and I sort of push my way through the people, saying "Excuse me" or "Please let me though" to get to them. I walk up to them and sit down.

"See, it isn't so bad," Yuki says.

"I've never been to school before. And I've never been around this many people," I say.

"Ya, well I think it is going to get harder," Zero says.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

Zero points to the others, and they look completely shocked. I smile at them and continue to talk to Yuki and Zero. Then the others start to walk up and ask me questions and everything, and I try to answer them. I look over to Zero and smile, and he smiles back. Maybe it won't be too hard, after everyone stops crowding me…

"Well, that was fun," Yori says as we leave class.

"Heh, if you say so," I say. "I feel like I just got done exercising."

"Well, you are popular now," Yuki adds.

"But, what does that have to do with anything?" I ask.

"It just means you aren't going to have to be alone anymore," Zero says.

"But Zero-kun, I've got you silly," I say childishly. I watch as he starts to get angry. I just remembered that he hates to be called Zero-kun. Oh well, it doesn't matter.

"Wait, what do you mean by that, Yume?" Yori asks.

"Oh, oops, I forgot to tell you we were dating. Sorry," I say.

"Have you known each other a long time?" Yori asks.

I look at him, then I say, "Sort of. We know a lot about each other if that helps explain anything."

She laughs. "I may have just met you, but I completely understand you Yume."

All four of us begin to laugh. "I think I may actually like going to this school, and maybe I won't run away," I say.

"Run away? Why would you want to run away?" Yuki asks.

"It's just how I escape my problems," I say.

"Well, if you have problems," Yuki says as she grabs Yori and Zero and puts her arms around their necks, "tell us and we will take care of it. I promise."

"Yeah, no one is going to hurt you," Yori says.

Zero pushes Yuki's arm off of him and walks over to me. "And if they can't stop you, I will." He wraps his arms around me and hugs me.

"Zero…" I look at Yuki and Yori and they are both smiling, but I see a slight hint of surprise in their faces. I guess it's a good thing. I don't know. To be honest, I am _really_ scared.

Zero lets me go and he looks me in the eyes. "You're blushing Yume," he says. I turn my head and walk off. They follow me, but I stay in the lead. We go outside and sit on one of the benches that is under a tree.

"I know that it isn't three yet, so what are we doing?" I ask.

"Eating lunch," Yuki says. She leans over and whispers, "I can tell the headmaster didn't mention it so you can have some of mine if you want."

I shake my head no. "I'm fine. I don't get hungry during the day."

"What, are you like a vampire and only eat at night?" Yori asks.

"No, but I do like to eat steak," I say. No all the thoughts in my head are turned to thinking about steak.

"What does that have to do with being a vampire?" Yuki asks as she eats her lunch.

"I don't know. Just something people used to tell me." I clear my head so I don't get hungry and have to sneak away to find steak.

As everyone gets done eating, we start to head back to class when a man unexpectedly walks up to us. He is wearing a suit and has a hat on.

"Excuse me, but are you Rose Ioh?" the man asks me.

"No, I am Yume Ioh," I say.

The man looks at me. "Well, either way, I need you to come with me."

Zero pushes Yuki, Yori, and me behind him. "She isn't going anywhere with you. For one thing, we don't know who you are."

"Well, then let me introduce myself. I am Edmond Van Ioh, and I need to talk to her."

Everyone looks at me. Yuki grabs onto my shoulder. "Is he kin to you?"

"No, I don't know him," I say. I hear Yori whisper something to Yuki, but I can't make out what it is. Zero still has us behind him and I am sure he won't let him get us.

"Well, if you don't trust me, then look at this." He pulls a wallet out of his jacket and shows us a badge. Before he puts it up, I see that it has something about vampires on it and I start to freak out. Zero starts to push us back and I get the feeling that we should run.

I stand on my toes so I can reach Zero's ear. "Zero, is he from the senate?"

Zero nods his head slowly and looks at me. "Yume, I need you three to run."

"I'm not leaving you," I say.

"Well, the four of you aren't leaving, really," Edmond says.

"You have no right to be here," Yuki says as she steps from behind Zero. "If you don't leave, I will report you to the headmaster."

"Well, I can see this isn't going as planned," Edmond says. He pulls his hat off and looks at me. "Rose, you will come back and you _will_ perish for what you have done."

I look at him. "But I haven't done anything!" I scream. He doesn't listen. He starts to transform into something. I'm not sure what, I just know we are in troubled.

"Yume, take Yori and run!" Yuki shouts.

"But-"

"But nothing. Get out of here now," Zero orders.

I look at him. I see he isn't messing around. I know that Yori doesn't know about vampires, but now how am I going to explain why we are leaving? I look to Yori and pull on her arm. We run away from them, and I try to navigate my way to headmaster Cross's office.

"Yume, what are we running from?" Yori asks me.

"All I know is that he wants to kill me," I say.

"Why?" she asks.

I stop running to catch my breath. "I don't know. I think it would be best to talk to headmaster Cross, don't you think?"

"No," Yori says. She takes deep breaths where I am trying so hard just to breath. "Yuki always goes to Kaname Kuran in the night class. I think we should go there."

I look at her. "Yori, I can't go there."

"Well, we don't have to listen to rules since they are trying to kill you. Come on," she says as she pulls me in the direction of the moon dorms. I look behind us and see Edmond running towards us.

"Yori, we have to run faster," I say. She looks back and runs toward our destination, but we are no match for him. He appears in front of us and we stop.

"Now I have you," Edmond says.

I look at Yori and she looks back to me. "Yori, get out of here," I say.

She shakes her head. "I'm not leaving you."

"Then I'll just kill you both," Edmond says.

"I don't think so," someone says behind him.

I know exactly who it is and I do my best to block Yori's view as well as my own. I hear this sound that's just sick. I can't even explain it. I turn my head slightly and see that Edmond is nothing but dust and Kaname is standing there with blood on his hand. I move out of Yori's view because I hope she will pass out so we can wipe her memories of this. She shrieks and falls to the ground like I had hoped.

I go to pick her up when Kaname says, "Who was he?"

I stop and look at him. "He was from the senate. His name was Edmond Van Ioh. Other than the fact he wanted to kill me, I know nothing about him," I say.

"Where are Yuki and Zero?" he asks as he pushes me out of the way and picks Yori up.

"I don't know. They told us to run and we never looked back," I say.

"Go find them and I'll take her to headmaster Cross," he says.

Kaname walks off and I run back to the last place I saw them. I run like I never have. When I get there, there is no one around. I look all over the school grounds to find them, but they just aren't here. I then decide to go to Kaien to see if they are there. Won't this be fun, trying to explain all of this to him.


	12. By The Lake

I run into the school building and bump in to Sky. I fall down from the sudden impact while she stands. I hit my head face first on the ground and my nose starts to bleed.

"Oh, crap Yume. I am so sorry," Sky says as she helps me up.

I wipe the blood away. "Sorry sis, can't talk. I'm in a rush," I say as I leave her. I run up some stairs and I rush into his office. "Kaien!" I scream. I bend over to catch my breath when I notice Kaname standing in front of his desk.

"Yume, what's wrong?" Cross asks.

I straighten up and look at Kaname. "What are you doing here?" I ask Kaname.

"I told you I was coming up here. I thought I told you to-"

"I know, but I can't find them," I say.

"Find who? What's going on?" Cross asks.

Kaname sighs and says, "That is what I was coming to talk to you about. Not so much as the "who" though."

"Kaname, shut the hell up and help me find them!" I shout.

"Find who?" Cross asks again.

"Yuki and Zero!" I scream.

Cross gets quiet. I glare at Kaname, and he glares right back at me. "Kaien, this guy tried to kill me. Yuki and Zero tried to stop him so I took Yori and we left and now I don't know what happened to them," I say.

Kaien rises from his chair and walks over to me. He puts his hand on my shoulder and smiles. "You don't need to worry about them. They will be fine."

I look at him. I can't help but feel as though he knows something that I don't. I let it go, though, since there is no real point in trying to figure anything out because this guy is a complete psycho and for all I know he is high or something.

"But what did the guy want with me?" I ask.

Cross looks at me. "What was his name?"

"Edmond Van Ioh, and he is NOT related to me," I say making it very clear that I don't know the guy. "He said he was from the senate, but what would _they_ want with me?" Cross doesn't say anything. Neither does Kaname. "Hello?"

"Listen to me Yume, do not ever leave without someone with you. Like I said earlier, you are a target to a lot of people. I need you safe and I don't want you to get hurt. Now go to class and tell your teacher I had you run me a few errands. Oh, and from now on you will be on the Disciplinary Committee with Yuki and Zero," Cross says.

"But what about Yuki and Zero?" I ask.

"I will look for them," Kaname says. "Get to class and stay there until someone comes to get you."

I sigh and realize that I won't get anywhere if I argue with them, so I go back to class and inform my teacher that we were running errands. I sit down and barely pay attention the rest of the day. The three o' clock bell rings and everyone gets up and leaves, except for me. The teacher finally leaves, and now I am all alone waiting for someone to come and get me. I'm starting to wonder if anyone is coming at all.

All of a sudden the door opens and Toga walks in. "They sent me to come and get you, Yume," Toga says.

I stand up and smile. "Finally! I've got tons of homework that I have no idea how to do." I walk over to Toga and feel uneasy. My smile fades away as I realize he hates me as much as Zero hates vampires. "You don't like me either, do you?"

Toga laughs. "I am a vampire hunter. Of course I don't like you," he says.

"Wait, you're a vampire hunter?" I ask.

Toga stares blankly at me. "You didn't know that?" he asks.

"Nope!" I say with a smile and open the door. I walk out with Toga at my heels. "So, you know Shizuka?" I ask him.

"Any hunter knows who she is. I'm surprised to see that you are brave enough to speak of her," he says in a jerkish tone.

"Hmph. I am _not_ some baby. I am not afraid of anything."

All of a sudden I feel a gun to the back of my head. "Are you sure?" he asks.

I shrug my shoulders. "We already went through this once, but if you wish to go through it again we can," I say.

Toga pulls the gun away and I turn around to face him. "What about blood? Does that scare you?" he asks me.

I shiver. The mere thought of blood makes me sick. "Yes, that I am afraid of."

Toga shakes his head. "What kind of vampire are you?" he asks, mainly to himself but I decide to answer.

"You ask what kind of vampire I am? I'll tell you! I am… a new kind of vampire… that has yet to have a name," I say stupidly.

"No, you are a human and not a vampire," Kaname says behind me. I turn around to find Kaname, Yuki, and Zero standing there.

"Yuki, Zero! And Kaname… Where have you guys been?" I ask.

Kaname shakes his head and looks at Toga. "We will take her from here."

"Alright. Zero, how are you feeling since I last saw you," Toga says to Zero.

"Fine," Zero replies.

No one says anything and I get the feeling that Toga and Zero know each other. "Zero… do you and Toga know each other?" I ask.

Zero nods his head. "He is my master."

I cock my head in confusion. "Ma-ster?"

"Zero comes from a line of vampire hunters," Toga says.

I am completely shocked. If Zero comes from a line of vampire hunters, and his family was killed by vampires, there is no question as to why he hates vampires. And especially purebloods. And I am both of those…

"You didn't know that, Yume?" Zero asks.

I look at him and shake my head and I decide to stay away from him while Toga is around us because I am _sure_ he would kill us both. I wonder if he knows that Zero is a vampire?

"I better be getting ready for class," Toga says as he walks back to the classroom.

"What do ya mean?" I ask as he leaves. He ignores me and I stare daggers after him.

"He teaches both day and night classes, Rose," Zero says.

I sigh and we walk down the hall to the dorms. Then, out of nowhere, I remember that Kaname said I was human. _Gah, what the hell is wrong with him?_ But before we get out of the school building, we run into Hanabusa, Akatsuki, Ichijo, Rima, Ruka, Shiki, and Sky. I freeze. So do the others. In fact, everyone freezes.

"Rose," Hanabusa says in a scary manner, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, um, I'm just walking around…" I say slowly. He glares at me like I glare at Kaname, which means there is no 'us' in the future anymore.

"You are all early," Kaname says.

"We thought we would get here early for once instead of late," Ichijo says. "Besides, it is such a beautiful night that we just couldn't stay in."

I look away from Hanabusa and start to walk past them while everyone else stands still. "I'll see you guys later. I'm going to bed."

"Rose, wait up," Yuki yells after me. I look back and keep walking, but I wish I never looked back. Hanabusa is glaring at me with that killer vampire look I hate so much. His eyes are the color of blood and his fangs are out, and it proves that he would kill me if they weren't all around.

Kaname stays behind to go to class and the three of us walk out to do our job, well my new job. We search the whole area to make sure that no day class girls are out trying to see the night class. A cold wind blows and I shiver. I look up at the moon and realize that it is just barely a full moon, but it will be tomorrow. Now I can't sleep all day, but I shouldn't stay up too long either.

"Rose, are you alright?" Zero asks me.

I snap to and look at him. "I was just thinking," I say. I notice Yuki is walking off and leaving the two of us alone, so maybe we can talk about some things.

"What were you thinking about?" he asks me.

"The moon and how it will be full tomorrow."

Zero looks at me then to the moon. "Yeah, I guess it will be. Are you worried about how you'll react?"

I shake my head. "I sleep all day and night when there is a full moon, but I'm afraid of how the others are going to react. Mainly Hanabusa. I don't know if you noticed earlier or not, but he already bared his fangs at me. He isn't going to be able to hold back under a full moon."

I sit down on the ground and cross my legs. Zero joins me and sits on my left side and pulls his gun out. "If he tries anything, I will kill him. But the same goes for you." I look at him, but not in shock. More like a sympathy look than anything. "I don't care if we are dating, you are still a vampire and you can turn any moment."

"The same for you, Zero." He gives me a shocked look, but I smile and put my right hand to his face. "A human who has been bitten by a pureblood can lust for blood on a full moon just like a regular vampire. So," I say as I take his gun from his hand and lay it in my lap, "If you try anything, I will shoot you."

We don't say anything for a minute. He just stares at me. Then I feel his hand grab my left hand and I watch as his left hand grabs my right hand that is still on his face. He pulls it down and holds my hands in his. It's kinda awkward since we are fake dating, but it's also soothing and sweet.

"Hey, no sitting on the job!" Yuki shouts. I turn away from Zero and he pulls his hand away from mine. We both blush. Yuki walks over to us and smiles. "Listen, I don't care if you two are dating, no slacking! This campus is too big for only me to cover."

"Sorry, Yuki," I say. I get up and so does Zero and we all go off on our own and check the grounds. Although, I have no idea why they let me go off on my own.

That thought slips away as I hear a rustle in the bushes just ahead of me. I clutch my hand and notice I still have Zero's gun. It might be a good thing, too. I slowly walk over and peer through the bush and see the shadow of a person on the ground walking away. As a Guardian, it is my duty to make sure that all day class students and night class students are where they should be. I follow the shadow to the lake and approach the person while they are facing the lake.

"I knew you'd follow me, Rose," the person says. I freeze. That voice was Hanabusa's, which means it is Hanabusa that I followed here by myself. I clench the gun tighter and get it ready to shoot if I must. Hanabusa turns around, his eyes are still red.

"What do you want, Hanabusa?" I ask.

Hanabusa smiles. "You know, I heard from one of the day class girls that you were with Zero now. Is that correct?" he asks mercilessly.

"Yeah, so what if I am? It's not like I've got you anymore," I say angrily.

"Why him? He hates vampires, especially purebloods. And you are both. So why is he with you?"

Do I tell him that it's just fake so he could get Yuki, and maybe I get Hana? "We have our reasons," I say.

Hanabusa draws his hand to his lips and smiles. "Is it because you miss me and you want to make me jealous?" My eyes open wide. What do I say? My heart starts to pound and my breathing gets heavy. "Are you scared?" he asks teasingly.

"Y-yes," I barely voice.

Hanabusa laughs coldly. He stares at me, and I…I don't know what to do. All of a sudden I feel my legs become stiff like ice. I look down and see that Hanabusa froze my legs to the ground. I look up and notice he is getting closer so I pull the gun up, but I can't move my arms. I glance down and they are now, too, frozen in the ice.

"It seems as though you are a little… stuck," Hanabusa says. He chuckles lowly and continues to approach me.

"Hanabusa, stop this! It isn't funny," I cry. My eyes fill with tears, but I refuse to let them fall. "I'm not the one who ended our relationship. I'm not the one who forgot that there was one other person in his life that was a pureblood and was important to him. I'm not the one who-"

Hanabusa puts his finger on my lips. I hadn't realized he was that close. He smiles in my face, then bares his fangs. "You know, there were a few things that we never did when we were together those three years."

"Hanabusa, where are you going with this?" I ask hesitantly.

Hanabusa leans in closer to my face. "You know what is forbidden of the vampire race?" he asks.

"N-no, what?" I ask. I don't know many things when it comes to forbidden stuff.

He looks into my eyes and grins. Everything about him scares me. This is a side of him I have never seen before. "Drinking the blood of a pureblood vampire."

My blood freezes as those words leave his lips. "No, Hanabusa, don't do it," I beg.

Hanabusa kisses me on the lips and then my cheek. My skin crawls and my breath shallows more as his head reaches my neck. He kisses my neck and I flinch.

Hanabusa laughs. "I don't think it will hurt, Rose. Besides, I'll try to make it as enjoyable as our few kisses were."

"Hanabusa, please don't," I beg once more.

I glance down at him and he cuts his bloody eyes at me. "Say my name, Rose, just like you always used to when you wanted something. Say my name, and I'll show _some_ kindness."

"Hana… Hana… Hanabusa…" A tear falls down my cheek as I feel his fangs against my skin.


	13. The Forest

Hanabusa's breath is icy cold as his fangs reach my neck. I can't do a thing to stop him from drinking my blood now, so I might as well suffer through it as best as I can.

_BANG!_

Hanabusa lets go of me and falls to the ground. The ice trapping me breaks and I fall to my knees. Someone just shot Hanabusa, and just saved us both a lot of trouble. As I make sure that he is going to stay down for a while, I turn around and see Toga, Yuki, Zero, and Kaien standing at the edge of the forest. And Toga has a gun in his hands, a vampire hunter gun.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?!" Hanabusa yells.

I glance back at him and see that he is bleeding from his right shoulder. I stand up and back away from him, but trip and fall over the ice shards lying about. I look once more to Hanabusa and see that he his propping himself up with his bloody arm and looking me dead in the eyes.

"Rose, are you alright?" Cross shouts from behind.

"Ye-yeah. I… I'm okay," I say breathlessly.

"Hanabusa, did you think that you would go unnoticed in the classroom?" Toga asks him viciously.

Hanabusa laughs. "No, but I thought I'd have more time than that to at least taste her blood," he says greedily.

"Rose, come over here with us," Yuki says.

I go to stand, but my hand slips and I cut myself on a piece of ice. My hand becomes bloody and the smell becomes maddening.

"So that's what your blood smells like," Hanabusa says.

I quickly look at him and see that he is starting to get up and his eyes are glowing even brighter than before. I jump up and back away from him fleetingly. I stumble again, but I keep my balance this time though I know I'll never make it away from him at this rate. That's when Zero stands in front of me and keeps Hanabusa away from me. He also takes his gun out of my hand since I clearly can't use it.

"Hanabusa, don't think for one minute that I won't gladly shoot you," Zero says.

Hanabusa laughs maddeningly this time. "Do you think I care? I want one thing and that's it. Now get out of my way or I'll rip you to shreds!"

I grab Zero's arm and pull him back as much as I can.

"Rose, what are you doing?" Zero asks me.

"Stay out of this," I say as I grab his gun and step in front of him. "This is my problem. I've _never_ needed help from anyone before, so I don't need help now."

Hanabusa's laugh becomes hysterical as I bring the gun up and aim it at his left shoulder. I don't really want to kill him if I don't have to.

"Rose, what are you doing?" Yuki yells.

I glance at Zero and smile though he just stares at me like I'm an idiot, but he doesn't try to take his gun back which hopefully means he trusts me for once. I take a deep breath and stare Hanabusa down.

"I'm gonna give you a chance to back down, Hana, before I shoot you myself," I say.

Hanabusa looks at me, but this time his eyes aren't red anymore and his fangs are gone. He seems as though he is sick. I feel a hand on my shoulder and when I look up, I see Kaname standing there.

"Zero, get her out of here. The headmaster and I will take care of Hanabusa," Kaname says.

"Whoa, wait just a-" Zero covers my mouth and hoists me upon his shoulder. "Zero, put me down this instant!" I demand.

Zero ignores me and carries me away from the lake and Hanabusa like Kaname told him to. _Since when did_ _ **Zero**_ _listen to Kaname?_ I start to cry about halfway through the trees and Zero puts me down.

"What the hell do you think you are doing wandering about by yourself when we told you specifically not to!" Zero yells at me. I turn away from him and lean against a tree. "Rose, I am talking to you!" He grabs my arm and pulls me so that he and I are in each others faces.

"What the hell do you want me to say? That I'm sorry?!" I yell back at him. Zero clenches my arm and I punch him in the gut. He lets go and stumbles backwards. "Listen to me. All of you listen! I don't take orders from anyone. Not a soul. I refuse!" Everyone stares at me for a moment. I am so furious. I hate it when people tell me what to do. I've just had enough of it.

All of a sudden I smell blood coming from the lake, and I suspect that Kaname just beat Hanabusa to a pulp. None of the others can smell it, except for Zero, but who cares.

"Everyone needs to take a minute and breathe," Yuki says.

I roll my eyes and notice that Toga is gone. "How about I just leave. I've lived by myself far too long to stay with people," I say. I turn from them and walk away. In fact, I almost run. I can't stand goodbyes, and I have grown attached to some of them.

After a little while, I hear footsteps ahead of me so I stop. "Who's there?" I shout. A figure appears and stands there, motionless; he is wearing a black overcoat and black fedora. His hair is red and long, kind of like Kaname's. "I asked you a question, now answer me," I order.

The man looks up at me and smiles. "I am Phoenix Ioh, and I have come for you Rose," the man says.

I wave my hand back and forth in my face and look at him. "Listen, I don't have the time to deal with this, so you are just going to have to go away."

"If you think a wave of the hand and words will make your nightmare disappear, then try. But your reality is near and it is time to wake up from your dream, princess."

I glare at him. "What the hell are you talking about? And how dare you call me princess. I don't even know who you are."

I feel another hand upon my shoulder. I glance back a little so I can still see Phoenix. "Tch! Zero, what are you doing here?" I ask. He looks down at me quickly, then to Phoenix.

"You should not be here," Zero says.

"Hmm, Zero Kiryu and Miss Rose Ioh. I wasn't expecting this so quickly," Phoenix says.

I freak out. He wasn't expecting this? "Wait, you were expecting what?" I ask frantically. Zero's grip tightens on my shoulder.

"I, nor the others, were expecting the two of you to meet so quickly," Phoenix says with a smirk.

"What are you talking about?" Zero asks.

"Oh, the plans in store for the two of you," Phoenix says cheerily. "You'll just have to wait a bit longer." He starts to turn away.

"No, tell us now!" I scream. But before I can go after him, he is gone. I make a fist and punch a whole in the nearest tree I can find, which isn't that hard considering the survival I had to go through. "Damn, the first time I get close to finding anything out he just disappears."

"Rose, who was that?" Zero asks.

I sigh and look at him. "He said his name was Phoenix Ioh. Like that Edmond guy. But what the hell does he want with the both of us?" I ask.

Zero looks away from me. "It must have something to do with Shizuka…" We don't say anything. How can we when all we have are questions. "Are you still going to leave?" he finally asks.

"I don't know," I say. "I really like it here, but I don't know how to get along with people."

"You don't have to worry about that," Yuki says out of nowhere. I turn around and pull my hand out of the tree. Yuki and Cross are standing beside Zero smiling. "Zero doesn't get along with people either. But we can help you with that if you'll only stay."

I look at all of their faces. "I… guess I could stay," I say, "but only if I get to tell Kaname what to do."

Zero smiles. "Yeah, I'm sure we can arrange that."

Yuki slaps his arm. "Zero, we can't do that."

"Why not? He bosses everyone else around. Why can't she?"

"Because no one is supposed to boss anyone around!"

I laugh. Maybe this won't be so bad. We call it quits for the night and head back to the dorms. Except Yuki, Zero, and I find out that Kaien was serious about Zero and me staying in the same room…


	14. Effects Of A Full Moon

"Kaien, you're kidding," I say.

"No, I don't think that it would be smart to leave you in Yuki's care especially since she shares a room with Yori, who just recently had her memory wiped. It would just be safer this way," Cross says.

"But headmaster, you can't do that," Yuki argues.

"Why not?" he asks.

"BECAUSE! That is against school rules. No girls in the boys dorm and no boys in the girls dorm."

Zero is leaning on his bedroom door with his head up against it. I'm just waiting for Cross to realize what an idiot he is.

"I am the headmaster. I make the rules. Besides," he says as he wraps his arm around Zero, "Zero wouldn't try to do anything to her. Or, at least not forcefully I hope."

Zero punches Cross in the face and sends him sailing down the hall. I laugh and Yuki sighs.

"Zero, did you have hit him?" Yuki asks. Zero doesn't reply. He opens his door and walks in. I roll my eyes again and look at Yuki.

"Yuki, what do I do?" I ask.

Yuki shrugs her shoulders. "Well, it isn't like he shares a room with anyone and everyone is pretty much scared of him, so I don't think anyone will notice."

I sigh and shake my head as I walk into his room. I shut the door and look around. There isn't much in here at all. There's a bed, a sink, and a closet, but that is it. Oh, there's a window, too.

"Um, so what are we gonna do?" I ask him.

Zero looks at me then to the window. "You can sleep in the bed and I'll sleep on the floor."

"That isn't what I meant," I say as I sit on his bed.

He looks at me. "Then what the hell do you mean?"

"About the other shit that's going on. About Phoenix and Edmond, and… where the hell did you and Yuki go earlier?" I ask, getting off topic.

Zero leans against the wall and looks at me. "We were trying to figure out how he got in here, but when we went looking we ran into Toga. He told us that he would look in to it. That it was something we needed to stay out of."

"Ugh… At least you tried," I say. I think for a moment about what I am going to say next because I don't want him to start hating me again. "Zero, can I ask you something?"

"Depends on if it's gonna piss me off," he says.

"Okay, I'll take that as a yes. Why do you talk to me if I am two things you hate."

Zero doesn't say anything. Five minutes pass before he does say anything. "I talk to you because I'm trying to find things out."

"Oh, so it isn't because you like to talk to me," I say.

"If you think that then you're very wrong."

I shrug my shoulders. "As long as you don't stick a gun to my head every ten seconds, I don't care if you like me or not. But if I was human would you?"

Zero cuts his eyes at me. "If you were human, I probably would never have met you."

I laugh. "Yeah, I guess not…" I smile for a moment because the thought of me being human brings back the memories of my family. But then it also brings back the night that Shizuka killed them all in front of me. "I bet we would have been good friends if Shizuka had never come around." He doesn't reply. "You don't think so?" I ask.

"If she'd never come around, then my parents would still be here," he says angrily.

 _Oh well, there goes not pissing him off._ "Hey, you know what?" I ask as I think.

"What?" Zero asks gruffly.

"I think my parents were vampire hunters, too."

"Then why the hell would they keep a vampire in their home?"

I look at him. "I haven't always been a vampire," I say.

Zero glares at me. "I find that rather hard to believe."

"Well, if you don't believe me just go ask…" I trail off. I don't know what to say next.

Zero laughs. "What, you can't think of someone?" he asks.

I shake my head. "There isn't anyone. She killed them all."

Zero crosses his arms and looks towards the door. "What about Sky? Isn't she your sister?"

I sigh and stand up. I walk around and kick my feet a little. Then I look him in the eyes and slightly smile. "We don't remember each other being there, but we both have our memories of our family. Except for one…"

"And that is?" Zero asks me.

"When I watched Shizuka kill my oldest sister in the snow, I ran home to find that the rest of them were dead. But apparently Sky ran away altogether. She didn't stick around to see what was left. That's why we never met, or maybe our memories of each other were erased." I sit back down on the bed and lie back with my feet dangling off the edge.

"Then how did you and Kaname meet?" he asks.

"I've been waiting for someone to ask me that," I say. "You might want to grab a seat and a bag of popcorn if you really want to know." Zero doesn't grab a bag of popcorn, but he does sit down on the floor. I sit up and scoot up against the wall so I'm not talking to the ceiling instead of him. "Are you sure you want to know?" I ask.

"Everything I find out always leads back to you, so you might as well just tell me your life, but make it short," Zero says.

I laugh. "Alright, you know my life up to my families death, so I'll start there. After Shizuka bit me and brought my vampire senses, if that's what you wanna call 'em, into my life, I cried and she left. The words she told me before she left were 'you're next' have haunted me for a long time, and they still do, caused some of my crying. I don't know how long I was there alone, but it felt like forever.

"Once I grasped what had really happened to me, I got up and walked outside. The sun wasn't out yet and it had only set by the time I got home that night, so I knew that I could leave before any vampire hunters came and found me. I decided to just leave as I was, blood covered clothes and all, and get as far as possible away from my home. However, I ran into someone unexpected. Another vampire, Kaname Kuran. He took me to his 'home' and got me cleaned up. I lived there for about a year, and I couldn't live there anymore. They didn't treat Kaname too well, but they treated me even worse."

I pause for a moment. I recall Cross saying that Zero had been dealing with his problem for four years now, and I have been dealing with mine for four years as well. Then I recall reading in the paper a long time ago about that day. "Zero, did you know that Shizuka attacked our families within the same day?" I ask him.

Zero looks at the floor. "No, I didn't know."

"Anyway," I say as I know that this isn't going anywhere, "I left and lived in the woods. I met Hanabusa and Akatsuki while I was walking around the cursed earth and soon fell in love with him. And three years later, here I am, still as much human as ever."

"God, that was long," Zero complains.

I take my shoe off and throw it at him. "It isn't my fault! I have a really long and boring life," I say.

"Boring to a T," he replies.

I huff and cross my arms. "Well, now you know my life. Try and make heads or tails of it if you can, but I don't know what it will help you with." Zero gets up and walks over to me. I look up at him since he is towering over me and see that he has a sad look. "Zero, what's wrong?" I ask.

Zero doesn't reply to me. Instead, he reaches his arms towards me, grabs me, and shoves me off the bed onto the floor.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" I scream.

Zero laughs and sits down. I hop up and jump on the bed. I stand on it and kick Zero in the stomach. He grunts and grabs my foot that I was too slow to pull away from him. Zero pulls me down and I fall to the bed. I start to giggle, and Zero begins to laugh. I swear, sometimes Zero is a complete ass, but then again he has his good moments…

"Rose, wake up," Zero says.

"Hmm?" I yawn and stretch. I open my eyes and realize that I fell asleep in the most uncomfortable place in the world; half on the bed and half off. I sit up and look at Zero. He is already dressed and ready for class. The jerk…

"We'll be late if you don't hurry up," Zero urges.

I stand up and notice that he has my uniform in his hands. I grab it and sluggishly walk over to the sink. Zero sits down on his bed and since there is a 'wall' blocking Zero's view from the sink, I get undressed and put my uniform on. I brush my teeth and wash my face, and sluggishly walk back over to Zero.

"Rose, are you alright?" Zero asks me as he gets up and walks to the door.

I follow him blindly and run into him. "Uh-huh," I say slowly. I look up at him and smile.

"Maybe you shouldn't stay up so late." Zero opens the door and we both walk out. I don't see anyone in the hallway as we walk to class, but I'm so exhausted I probably wouldn't see them anyway.

We get to class just in time, and Toga is our teacher now. Ugh. I feel so sleepy while we are reading a stupid story so I decide to lay my head on the table for a moment and rest…

WHACK!

"Oh! What the-!?" I grab my head and sit up.

"You are not going to sleep in this class," Toga says. He has a book in his hand that he just hit me with.

"Gah, I'm so sleeeepy," I whine.

"You should have slept instead of staying up all night," he says as he walks off. I huff and cross my arms. Yuki and Yori snicker and Zero shakes his head in disbelief.

The lunch bell rings and the four of us walk outside again. Well, I more or less am dragged along. We sit down and they begin to eat while I try so hard not to fall asleep.

"Yume, are you feeling okay?" Yori asks.

I nod my head. "This may sound weird, but I get very sleepy on full moons," I say.

Yori laughs. "I know, my parents do the same thing. Here, have this," she says as she pushes some strange food in my face. "It'll keep you awake for a while."

I take it since it looks like a granola bar and eat it. I look at Yori and smile, and all of a sudden I feel light headed…

"Rose, Rose, can you hear me?" someone asks.

I slowly open my eyes and see Sky standing above me. I turn my head and see Yuki, Zero, and Kaname behind her. "Wha?" I ask.

Sky laughs. "You're awake," she says and hugs me.

"Ugh, what happened?" I ask. I sit up and look around at my surroundings. It seems as though I am in the nurses office, judging by all the beds and glass containers in here.

"You are apparently allergic to granola bars," Yuki says. "So, ever since yesterday, you've been in here."

I blink at her. "Since yesterday I have been asleep?" I ask.

"Well, you needed the sleep anyway," Zero replies. I face-palm myself because they are useless to me right now.

"Rose," Kaname says, "How are you feeling?"

I roll my eyes. "Like you care," I say. I look over to him and notice he seems a little hurt. _Bull crap Kaname. I know you only act like that around Yuki!_ I think to myself.

"Rose, I do care," Kaname says. He walks over to me and leans in close to my face. "But for some reason you choose to ignore the fact that I can and _do_ care."

I bare my fangs at him. "Get the hell out of my face Kaname or I swear I'll kill you where you stand," I say as viciously as possible. Kaname chuckles, and I begin to slap him, but Yuki grabs my arm and stops me. I turn to glare at her and say, "Let go of my hand, Yuki."

Yuki shakes her head. "I can't let you go around hitting people. If I did, I'd have to let Zero, too," she says with a slight smile.

"Well, fine then," I say. I ready my other hand to slap Kaname, but then Zero decides he is going to stop me too. "For crying out loud, why won't you guys let me hit him!?" I yell.

Everyone gets silent. I look around at all of their faces and they seem a little fuzzy, except for Kaname. He is as clear as day for some reason.

"Rose, I don't think you realize something," Kaname says.

I snarl at him. "Oh yeah? And what the hell might that be?"

Kaname chuckles once more and leans in even closer to my face, merely inches away from my lips. "This is all a dream that you need to wake up from."

"What? A… a dream?" I ask. The grip on my hands fades and Kaname pushes me down on the bed.

"Yes, a dream." His face has yet to move closer or further away from my face, leaving me with the idea I am having a very appalling nightmare that will hopefully soon come to an end. Or, even worse, Kaname is lying to me and he is actually on top of me. I try to pull away, but I can't free myself of his grip. Suddenly he begins to laugh again, but lower than before.

"Kaname, what the hell do you think you are doing?" I ask, more terrified than angry.

"Rose, all I have ever wanted in life was you," Kaname purrs. _Oh, how much I want to slap him right now!_ "And now that you know…" Kaname leans in closer to me and I can feel his breathe on my lips, and almost his lips…


	15. Already Over

"Wait," I say, hoping to pause this action from going any further. Kaname stops and looks into my eyes. "If this is a dream, then can't I change it however I want?" I say mockingly.

Kaname smiles at my words. "If it is a dream, then I don't see why not."

I concentrate hard on him, trying to picture the perfect death sentence. The only thing that comes to my mind, though, is tying him up to a bunch of bombs and watching him being blown to pieces. Yes, that is the _true_ death sentence that he deserves.

**WHACK!**

I jerk awake with my hand quickly rushing to my face. "Who the hell just slapped me?!" I shout.

"You wouldn't wake up," Zero says.

I look at him and notice his smile. "What the hell happened to me?" I ask, trying hard to ignore the fact he just slapped me.

"You passed out at lunch and no matter what we did, we couldn't wake you up. Yuki told me to bring you back here and she'd take care of Toga." Zero walks over to the window and for the first time, he actually looks worried.

"Zero, what's wrong?" I ask. I push the covers off of me and sit up in the bed. I watch Zero. The only thing he ever seems to do is stare out of the window, lost in his thoughts.

"You talked in your sleep," Zero says. I begin to blush out of embarrassment. Zero looks at me out of the corner of his eye and I quickly turn my head. "Do you have dreams like that often, with Kaname in them?"

"It was a nightmare, Zero." I slowly turn my gaze back to him. "After all the things he has done, why the hell would I want to be with him?" I ask.

Zero shakes his head. "I don't know why you'd want to be with him, but you wouldn't have had that dream for no reason," he says.

That comment makes me think. _Zero is right. I wouldn't have had that nightmare for no reason. Unless it was a memory…_ I fall back on the bed and cover my eyes with my arm. "Zero, I just remembered that… I remembered that my nightmare has happened before. Not exactly like that, but Kaname has told me he loves me once before…"

I hear footsteps walking towards me. They stop at the side of the bed. I feel hands pull my arm away from my face, letting Zero look in to my eyes.

"What do you mean he told you he loved you?" Zero asks, his tone worried and sad.

"The night before I left Kaname's home, he cornered me and told me that." I look away from him. "I don't know why I couldn't remember that until now, but I wish I didn't."

"Do you still think he cares about you like that?" Zero asks.

I shake my head. "I doubt it. After that night, things haven't been the same." I sigh and close my eyes. "What time is it?"

"It's only nine," Zero replies.

"We should probably help Yuki out, then." I hop off the bed and walk to the door with Zero behind me. We walk outside and I can't help but observe how bright it is out here. But then I remember that it is a full moon.

"Should you be out here, Rose, considering that it is a full moon," Zero says.

I look at him. "No, I probably shouldn't be out here. Especially after what happened last night. But as long as you are here, I don't see why it matters." We continue to walk when I hear another pair of footsteps approaching us. I turn towards the sound and, to my surprise, see Toga. Zero puts his hand on my shoulder quickly, but I don't know why.

"Master," Zero says.

"Zero," Toga says.

"Uh….." I don't know what to say. Toga looks at me and I flinch. The way he stares at me gives me the creeps!

"Yume, Kaien has asked me to watch over you tonight in case Hanabusa comes after you," Toga says.

"You don't have to. I know you'd rather see me dead right now," I say. Zero's hand tightens on my shoulder.

Toga chuckles. "Of course I'd rather see you dead. You're a vampire and a pureblood. Vampires like you are what makes our job harder than it should be. Constantly biting humans to only have them as slaves. But then they go after humans and fall to Level E."

I glare at Toga. "For the last time, I'm not like that," I cry. "I don't even want to be a vampire. So why can't you let it go?"

Toga looks up to the moon and smirks. "Because Shizuka has something in store for you." He looks back to me, his smirk fading. "If I wasn't so curious about her intentions, I'd kill you so you wouldn't have to live like this."

Zero's grip on me is unbearable now. "Master, I won't let you talk to her like that," Zero says.

Toga's eyebrow raises in confusion. "What?"

Zero pulls me behind him and blocks most of my view of Toga. "She has done nothing wrong. This isn't her fault. If you want to blame anyone, you should blame Shizuka."

I am shocked. I never thought Zero would have defended me like he just did. And I'm not the only one.

"Why are you defending her?" Toga demands.

"I never said I was. But I can't stand for people to blame others for something that isn't their fault," Zero growls.

 _Zero is defending me, but I know he'll never admit it._ I think to myself.

"You know she is just like Shizuka. She is a pureblood," Toga argues. "Why even been around her if she is the one thing you hate more than yourself?!"

Zero makes a fist with his hand. "Because maybe I like her!"

"What?" I whisper in shock. I don't know what to do. Did he just say he liked me?

"Zero, you're kidding," Toga says.

Zero looks back at me and smiles. Then his gaze falls back on Toga. "Maybe life has something different in store for me than just killing off vampires and myself. Maybe she was brought here to help me. Or maybe so I can help her," Zero says.

"Zero," I say.

"Zero, what has happened to you?" Toga asks.

Zero glares at him. "Master, I'm sorry if I've hurt you, but Yume isn't like the rest of them. She is different. No, she isn't even one of them. Yume is-"

"Just like the rest of us, Zero," someone says.

I quickly look behind me to see who it is. "Hanabusa!" I say.

I feel hands on my shoulders again. "Rose," Zero whispers, "stay calm." I nod my head and Zero steps in front of me once more. "Hanabusa, you should be in class."

I hear footsteps coming up from behind, and then Toga appears at Zero's side. "Hanabusa Aido, if you disobey school rules, I have the right to shoot you," Toga says harshly.

Hanabusa laughs. "Well prepared, Rose, for having so many bodyguards" Hanabusa says.

Toga looks down at me. I'd forgotten that he only knows me by Yume, not Rose.

"Hanabusa, why are you here?" Zero asks.

Hanabusa glares at Zero. "For Rose, of course. But I wasn't expecting to hear you say that you liked her." Hanabusa steps closer to us. "Besides, you can _never_ love her. So why even bother?"

I watch Zero's face become angry, if not enraged. _Why is he acting like this when he made it clear he didn't want anything to do with me?_ "Hanabusa, I'm afraid _you_ are the one incapable of loving her." Hanabusa's face turns dark. "The only way you could ever love her would be to give Kaname up. But you will never do that."

As I watch Hanabusa, I feel scared for the first time in my life… Scratch that. Last night was pretty scary too. I grab Zero's hand and pull him back. He looks at me, but all I can do is shake my head. I continue to pull him back, trying to get as far away from Hanabusa as possible, until I run into something. I stop moving and slowly look behind me to see what I'd run into.

"Yume, what is going on?" Kaname asks.

"Ka-Kaname," I say just as slowly as my movements had been.

"Kaname, you need to watch over your classmates better," Zero says.

Kaname and Zero stare each other down. Then the silence is broken by another laugh from Hanabusa. Zero and I turn around to face him.

"This is sweet and all, but I'm not the one you should be worried about," Hanabusa says.

"What do you mean?" Toga asks after his long period of not saying anything.

"There is someone else who you should be more worried about," Hanabusa replies.

I roll my eyes. "Yes, Hanabusa, we get that. But who the hell is it?" I ask.

Hanabusa cuts his eyes at me, his bloody red eyes. "You know who."

I think for a moment. _Who could it be?_ "No," I whisper after thinking harder.

Hanabusa's smile widens. "Yes, I'm afraid so."

I quickly pull away from Zero and run to the school building where Sky is. Even though I've only know her for a short time, there is no way she can handle all of this without going insane.

As soon as I get to the building, I find Yuki standing outside doing her Guardian watching over everything.

"Rose! Where have you been?" Yuki shouts at me.

I run up to her, grab her arm, and pull her into the building. "Yuki, I'm going to need your help," I say as we rush down the corridors.

"With what?" Yuki asks.

I glance back at her as we near the classroom. "With Sky," I say.

I stop at the door and burst in. Everyone seems shocked to see me in here, but I don't really care.

"Akatsuki, where is Sky?" I ask.

Akatsuki shakes his head. "I don't know. First Hanabusa disappeared so lord Kaname went in search for him, and somewhere along there Sky disappeared."

"Shit," I mutter. I take a deep breath and try to think. _Where could she be? Or is this just Hanabusa screwing around with my mind?_

"Rose! What are you doing here?" a shrill voice asks.

I turn around and find Sky standing behind me. I run up to her and hug her. "Sky," I cry. I can't keep the tears from falling out of my eyes, but she doesn't seem to mind.

"Rose, everything will be fine. I'm fine, too, I promise. Now," Sky says as she pushes me away to wipe the tears off of my face, "why are you here?"

I look up at her. "Hana told me you were…"

I don't finish because Sky begins shaking her head. "Don't believe anything that ass has to say. He is just trying to get to you, and if you keep believing everything he says he will win."

I smile. Sky hugs me and walks Yuki and I back out of the building. As we walk around outside trying to find Zero, I notice Yuki's face is a little uneasy.

"Yuki, is something wrong?" I ask her.

Yuki jumps at my sudden voice. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

I smile. "You just seemed… lost in thought."

Yuki shakes her head. "No, I'm fine."

"So, do you like Zero?" I ask her, changing the subject.

Yuki's face turns red. "Well, um… Wha-what would make you ask that?" Yuki asks trying hard not to show her embarrassment.

I giggle. "I just thought you might," I say.

Yuki shakes her blushed face away and looks into my eyes. "Are you worried that I am going to take him away from you?"

My eyes widen. "I… I…" I'm at a loss for words. I hadn't even thought about it like that. When Zero and I first decided that we would do this, I didn't think I'd like him. But now, after all that has happened, I can't help but feel attracted to him.

"Yuki, Rose, where have you been?" a voice calls out to us.

I turn around to see Kaien walking towards us. "Kaien, what are you doing?" I ask.

"Looking for you," Cross says. "Zero told me you ran off. I got worried and came looking for you."

"Wait, you ran off?" Yuki asks.

"Yes?" I say.

Yuki sighs and looks to Cross. "Headmaster, what is going on?" she asks.

Cross shakes his head. "You do your job and look for day class students and I will take care of Rose," Cross says.

"Yay, I get to be stuck with a psycho," I mumble. Yuki snickers and walks away, leaving Cross and me alone.

"Rose, you shouldn't have run off," Cross says.

I huff. "It wasn't my fault I was worried about my sister. Besides," I say as I put my hand in my jacket pocket and pull out Zero's gun, "if anyone had tried anything, I would have pulled this out at 'em."

Cross walks over to me and takes the gun out of my hand. "Rose, have you ever shot a gun before?" he asks me.

"No, but I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard if my life was in danger," I say with a smile.

"Let's get you back to your room. Kaname is waiting in there for you. He said he needed to talk to you about something." Cross turns around and begins to walk, and I sluggishly follow.

 _I wonder what Kaname has to say to me now?_ I think. _Whatever it is, I know it can't be good. Not even of the slightest. And it is only midnight now, not even close for the moon to disappear._ I bring my hand to my head and sigh. "Kaien, is it safe to be near Kaname right now?" I ask.

Kaien chuckles. "He is one of the few that is safe to be around at this time. Other than Zero, anyway." He stops suddenly and I almost bump into him. I step back and he turns around to face me with a grim look. "Rose, is something wrong between the you and Kaname?"

I scoff at his question. "Only an idiot would ask that. Of course there is something-"

"I meant 'what' more than 'is'," Cross quickly says.

I blink at him. _Does he know what happened so long ago? Did Zero tell him?_ "Like what?" I ask questioningly.

He pushes his glasses back and looks away from me. "I know the two of you haven't always seen eye to eye, or if you ever have, but he seems… drawn to you in a way I've never seen drawn to anyone before." Cross turns his gaze back to me. "I guess all I really want to say is be careful and don't get yourself hurt."

With that, he turns around and starts to walk again. I follow him to my room and he leaves. I take a deep breath and open the door. I walk in and shut it, hoping to avoid Kaname's gaze, but even with my back turned I can feel it.

"I'm glad to see you are still alive," Kaname says.

"Tch! Like you care," I say turning around to face him. As my gaze falls on him, I see that he is standing by the window like Zero does.

"Rose, I do care," Kaname says looking straight at me. "But for some reason you choose to ignore the fact that I can and do care."

I freeze. Those words, I've heard him say them before. My dream, no, that night long ago. "Why?" I ask. "Why are you doing this to me?!"

Kaname sighs and gives me that evil glare of his. He walks closer to me and all I can even think about doing is backing up in to the wall next to the door. Now Kaname is standing in front of me. He smiles and places one hand on the wall just above my shoulder, blocking any escape for me, and, with his other hand, places one finger under my chin so I can't turn away from him.

"Rose," Kaname says sweetly, "all I have ever wanted in life was-"

"Kaname!" Zero shouts as he slams the door open.

I turn away from Kaname and look at Zero. His face is full of disgust. "Zero," I say softly. I feel a tear roll down my face, and I know Zero saw it because of his expression; his facial expression changes from disgust to sympathy.

"Zero Kiryu, what are you doing here?" Kaname asks.

"This is my room. I should be the one asking you that question," Zero says hatefully.

Kaname moves away from me, and I hadn't realized it, but I had almost stopped breathing until now. "I thought I'd asked Kaien to keep you out of here while I talked to Rose. I see he didn't."

"I'm surprised he let you talk to her by yourself," Zero snarls.

Kaname looks at me. "He trusts me, Zero. That is something you don't know too well." Kaname turns back to Zero. "Now, I would greatly appreciate it if you would let me finish talking to her."

Zero laughs. "Like I'd leave you alone with her. Can't you look at her face and see that she doesn't want to be with you!" Zero yells.

"Zero… what are you doing?" I voice.

Zero looks at me, but not with the look of repulse he had for Kaname, but with confusion, no… love maybe.

"I'm telling him something he needs to hear," Zero says.

"And what might that be?" Kaname asks.

Zero turns back to Kaname. "She doesn't love you and she doesn't want anything to do with you! In fact, I'm sure I care more about her than you do!" Zero shouts.

"Oh? Is that so? So, Zero, are you telling me that you love her more than I do?" Kaname asks, intriguingly.


	16. Love Triangle

I stop breathing along with Zero and Kaname. When I can't hold my breath anymore, I take in little breaths so I don't make the tension any worse. _What the hell is Zero trying to pull?_ I think.

"What, you can't answer me?" Kaname asks teasingly. Zero grits his teeth. "Or, are you embarrassed that she is here?"

"Ka…Kaname, stop this," I beg. I don't want Zero to say anything he might regret. It isn't that I don't want to hear him say that he loves me more than Kaname, because I've grown to like Zero in these past few days, but Zero and I know that there are things to our past that would make us being together unbearable if we found them out.

"Rose, you need to stay out of his," Kaname says scornfully.

"Kaname, don't talk to her like that," Zero commands.

"Then answer me, Kiryu. Do you love her more than I love her?" Kaname's eyes turn red as they burn holes in Zero. But Zero's eyes turn red suddenly, and with them both like this, I can't help but be afraid.

"Kuran, I do love her more than you do. In fact, I'd do anything she'd ever ask of me," Zero finally answers.

Kaname laughs. "Like I wouldn't do the same thing." He turns to me with a smirk on his face; another sign of the devil he has become. "Why don't we let her choose, Zero. Don't you think that would be fair?" Kaname turns back to Zero, whose face is indescribable.

"Fine," Zero says, calmly.

"Rose," Kaname says as he walks towards the door, "you have a month to decide, which will give each of us plenty of opportunities to woo you." He opens the door and leaves.

I glance over at Zero, who is just glaring at the door. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. I walk over to the bed and plop down on it face first. I turn over on my back, look at the ceiling, and sigh. "Zero, I-"

"Rose, you don't have to be sorry," Zero interrupts. "I'm sorry for doing this to you."

I laugh a little bit. Not crazy Hanabusa laugh, but Yuki kind of laugh. "You don't have to be sorry, Zero. You didn't do anything wrong," I say. I hear him walking across the floor, so I decide to sit up and make enough room for him to sit down on the bed with me. Of course he sits down, but the aura about him just shouts guilty for some reason. I tilt my head at him, trying to figure out what is going on in his mind, but I have no luck.

"Rose, I'm sure this is going to make life different," Zero says.

I smile, even though he isn't looking at me. "I don't mind, really. Who doesn't like things different and difficult?"

We sit in silence for a while, just us and our thoughts. I look outside and notice that the moon is setting. Apparently Zero notices it, too.

"I'm sure Cross will make an excuse for us not being there if we tell him what happened," Zero says reassuringly.

I quickly shake my head at his suggestion. "If we did that, I'd have to tell Kaien what happened, and I don't want to," I say worriedly.

I pull my legs up to me and put my head on my knees. I feel a hand on my back, with Zero smiling in my face. I smile back, but only a half-hearted smile.

"I got you into this mess, so let me help out a little," Zero says thoughtfully.

"Zero, do you love me or did you just say that to get Kaname to shut up?" I ask. Zero's face looks uneasy, and I start wonder if I should have asked that question.

Zero sighs and looks away from me. "What do you want the answer to be?" he asks.

I jack slap him. "I asked you first, dumb ass."

He rubs the back of his head and glares at me. "I won't answer until you answer."

I cross my arms. "Fine, asshole, be that way and see if I give a crap." And with that I lie down on the bed and close my eyes…

"Rose, wake up," I hear someone say.

I turn my head toward the voice and open my eyes. "Oh, it's just you Zero," I say. I hop up and walk to the sink. I wash my face and brush my teeth, and then I remember that I probably need to take a shower. I turn to Zero and ask, "Where's the shower?"

Zero laughs. "Yuki and I use headmaster Cross' guest shower. It's easier to use."

"Well, where the hell is it?" I ask, becoming _very impatient._

"Follow me," Zero says and walks out of the room with me at his heels. As we approach the bathroom, I can't help but notice that Kaien's office door is open. I stop Zero and lean in close to the opening in the door. "Rose, we shouldn't be doing this," Zero whispers in my ear.

"Like I care," I say.

I lean in as close as I can to the door without making any noise so I can hear what Kaien and the other person or persons are saying.

"Listen, I don't know why you are so upset," Kaien says.

I giggle. _He sounds like a little kid_.

"But Kaien," a familiar voice says, a voice I know all to well, "I want him gone, now!"

Zero grabs my shoulder. "I think we should leave," he says.

I shake my head. "Hell no. Kaname is talking about you, Zero. He's talking about last night," I say. Hot air brushes my neck, Zero's breath, I realize. He's breathing so quietly I can barely hear it.

"I can't make him disappear for no reason, Kaname. So until you can give me a reason, Zero _will_ stay here at Cross Academy and Rose _will_ stay by his side at all times." Kaien barely gets those words out of his mouth when a loud cracking sound is heard along with Kaien squeal.

"Kaien, do not test me. I want it done, and I want it done **now**!" Kaname demands.

I am ready to bust in the door and tell Kaname what I think of him, only if Zero wasn't holding me back, that is.

"Kaname, I can't unless he has done something wrong," Kaien pushes. "So, give me a reason to expel him."

I stop trying to get away from Zero. In fact, I almost go limp in his arms out of fear of Kaname telling Kaien what happened last night. Now, to be honest, I don't know if that would change anything, but I'd rather that Kaien didn't know about my past. Or at least what I don't want him to know.

"Kaien, I don't have to tell you," Kaname says.

This causes Kaien to chuckle. "Don't forget who I am, Kaname, and what I know."

"What?" I whisper to myself. "What does he know?"

Zero tugs at me arm. "We should leave before something gets said," Zero says.

I sigh and look at him. "But Kaien knows something, Zero. I think he knows something about me that he isn't telling."

"Fine, Kaien," Kaname begins to say, "I'll give you a reason to expel him. Zero is tampering with Rose. He is ruining her," Kaname says.

Kaien chuckles once more. "Are you sure it isn't that Rose is moving on, or that she never-"

"KAIEN!" Kaname shouts. My blood runs cold and a shiver runs through my whole body. I've never heard Kaname this angry before. "I want him gone, and if he isn't gone within a month, I will make sure he never sees another day."

I hear footsteps walking to the door Zero and I are hiding behind, and my blood begins to heat up. I push Zero backwards, trying to get away from the door as fast as possible, and push him behind corner. We both hide there, waiting for Kaname to walk out, so we can move because this corner is very small and, unlike myself, Zero isn't all that small.

We can hear the door open and footsteps walking down the other end of the hall. Zero pushes me and I fall on my face. He snickers and I kick him.

"Rose, Zero," someone says.

I look up and see Kaien standing beside us. "H-hi, Kaien," I say, weakly.

Kaien sighs and points to his office. "Both of you, now."

I stand up and follow Zero and Kaien to his office. I shut the door and sit down in a chair beside Zero in front of his broken desk. Kaien looks into my eyes and I turn away.

"Zero, Rose, how long were you two out there?" Kaien asks.

I cross my arms. "I don't know what you are talking about," I lie.

"We were out there long enough," Zero says.

I turn around and face him. "What the hell are you doing?" I ask him.

A smile appears on his face. "I'm not going to lie. Especially if it involves me," Zero says.

I huff and turn away from him and stare at Kaien. "Fine, we were out there for a while. Right before Kaname broke your desk," I say.

Kaien shakes his head. "Would you like me to answer some questions that you might have in exchange for what happened last night?" he asks.

I glance at Zero and he nods. "Sure," I say. "I'll go first. Is that aright?"

"Ladies always go first," Kaien replies.

I take a deep breath, deeper than usual, and let it out slowly. "Kaname cornered me last night when I walked in the room, and he was going to tell me that I was the only thing he had ever wanted in life like he told me the night before I left his home, but before he could Zero busted in and stopped him." I stop because I don't know if Zero is willing enough for me to tell Kaien what else happened.

"Is that all?" Kaien asks, raising one eyebrow.

"No, that isn't all," Zero says.

I look at him. "Zero," I begin, but he shakes his head.

"Kaien needs to know what happened. I'd rather tell it because I'm not sure if you were all that… awake when it happened," Zero says.

"Alright, then please continue," Kaien says.

"Kaname got mad that I was there and he told me to leave, but I told him that maybe Rose didn't love him like he loved her. He got protective and asked if I loved Rose more than he does." Zero pauses.

"And what did you say?" Kaien asks questioningly.

Zero sighs. "I said I love her more than Kaname does, and that I'd do anything she'd ask me to do. But then he said that he would do the same for her. That's when Kaname decided that Rose had a month to choose which one of us she loved."

Kaien's face is _completely_ unreadable. It's like nothing in his head works the right way. Then he suddenly smiles. "So, he wants me to get rid of you because you love her, or that you pretended to love her to get Kaname off her back, so there is nothing standing between their love," Kaien says to himself.

I stare at him in disbelief that he can say something right. "So…" I say.

"Rose, it seems like you were going to take a shower. Why don't you go ahead and leave Zero here so I can talk to him." Kaien smiles, but a creepy pedophile smile.

I shiver and quickly get up. I dart for the door, wave goodbye, and leave for my shower. As I walk in to the bathroom, I notice that it is really big. I shrug my shoulders. "I think I could get used to this," I say to myself.

I walk out of the bathroom and head for Kaien's office. I knock, and hear a 'come in'. I open the door and walk in.

"Did you have a nice shower?" Kaien asks me. I notice Zero is standing by the window. _Window freak._ And I see that the desk is fixed.

"Yes, I had a fantastic shower. It was nice and warm," I say with a smile.

"Good. Now, you are both excused from class today," Kaien says. "And I am sure you'd like to ask me a few questions."

My eyes widen. I'd forgotten that Kaien said I could ask him some questions. "Hell yeah I do!" I say energetically.

"Then sit down," Kaien says. I sit down quickly, eager to ask away with the many questions I have. "But," Kaien says before I can get a word out of my mouth, "I will limit you to three questions. That's it." I nod my head and he smiles. "Now, for your first question."

"Where are my parents?" I ask as my first question.

Kaien's face turns sad. "I knew that question was coming," he says.

"Do you not know?" I ask quizzically.

Kaien shakes his head. "I don't know where both of your parents are, in fact, I don't even _know_ both of your parents. I only know one of them," he says with a sad tone.

"Oh," I say. "So, then where is one of them?" I ask.

Kaien looks away from me. "Rose, I knew your father. He was the one who inspired me to create this school, in hopes that vampires and humans could live together, peacefully."

I look at the ground. "So, my father is dead?" I ask.

"Rose, I'm sorry," Kaien says.

I shake my head and hold back any tears I have. "No, it isn't your fault. I just wish I'd have known him a little, that's all." I look up at Kaien once more and smile. "Was he a good person, considering he was a pureblood?"

"Yes, your father was a great man. You remind me of him, wishing that you weren't a vampire and wishing to be human instead. Yes, you are the spitting image of your father, of course without the blue hair," Kaien says.

I laugh. "Did my father have light brownish hair?" I ask.

"Yes, the most terrific color," Kaien replies.

I smile and sigh. "Who killed him, because I know we purebloods live longer than others?"

Kaien looks at me with a grim look. "Rose, are you sure?"

My breath stops in my throat. "It was Shizuka, wasn't it?"

Kaien looks away from me. I bite my bottom lip, trying again to hold my tears back. However, this time I can't seem to get a hold on myself.

"Rose," Kaien says, "I am so sorry."

I cover my eyes with my hands. "Why does she have to kill them? Why?!" I cry. I fill hands on my shoulders and then I am enveloped in a hug. I embrace the person, not sure which male it is, and cry in to his chest.

"Rose, I'm sorry," Zero says above me. Then I realize that he is the one hugging me. _Gah, why is he acting so sweetly towards me?_

"Rose!" someone yells. I peek through Zero's arms and see Sky standing in the doorway.

"Sky," I whisper. Zero lets go of me and I wipe my tears away. "What's wrong, Sky?"

Sky rushes over to me and grabs on to my shoulders. She begins to shake me as she says, "What the hell happened to Kaname?"

I sigh and look at Zero. " _That_ is what happened to Kaname," I say.

"Thanks," Zero says sarcastically.

Sky shakes her head. "He is so pissed off. What did you do, Zero?" Sky asks.

"I told him that I love Rose more than he does," Zero says.

Sky shakes her head even more now. "Well, if you were aiming to piss him off, great job. Ichijo can't even talk to him without getting told to shut the… never mind what Kaname says," Sky says. "There are _plenty_ of words I don't feel like saying. Kaien, you need to do something."

Kaien shrugs his shoulders childishly. "I can't do anything because if I do, I'd have to expel Zero just to please Kaname," Kaien says.

Sky lets go of me and puts her fingers to her head. "Wow, and he is doing this over you, Rose."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" I ask.

"Nothing. But if Hanabusa knew about this… No, I don't even want to know what he would do."

With that, Sky turns around and leaves. I watch as she closes the door slowly. I turn to Kaien and ask, "What has happened to this school? I mean, it seemed so organized when I first arrived."

" _You_ are what happened to this school," Zero says.

"Jerk," I mumble. But even I know that it's true, and payback for before.

"Well, Rose, Zero, I have a favor to ask of you," Kaien says.

I look at him. "Sure, whatever you need!"

"I need you both to go into town and get a few things for me."

I look at Zero and back to Kaien. "Sure…"

Zero doesn't say anything.

"Good. Now, here's a list of the things I need and the money for it all." Kaien hands me the list and Zero the money. "Have fun!"

Zero and I walk out of his office and stare at each other. "It's better than being stuck here," I mumble to Zero.

He nods his head. "Lets go."

We walk out of the building and start on the long road to town.


	17. Bunnies Are Dangerous To Follow

"Zero," I say as we walk down the dirt road that leads to town, "what are you going to do about Toga?"

Zero shakes his head. "You know as well as I do that I have to act like I don't care what Master thinks or says," Zero replies.

I sigh and look to the sky. "Yeah, I know." I giggle at the thought of how well Zero can act like he has the past few days.

"What's so funny?" Zero asks.

I turn my gaze to him and smile. "I really appreciate you acting your part as my boyfriend. You've saved my ass plenty of times all ready."

Zero laughs quickly, leaving a smirk on his face. "I'm glad you noticed. I'd hate to think you thought it was real."

As those words leave his lips and reach my ears, I can't help but frown. _I can dream, can't I?_

"I'm sorry about Kaname, Zero. I never realized that he was that jealous of Hanabusa. I wouldn't have accepted your offer if I had known that."

"So, you would have stayed with Hanabusa to make Kaname even madder?" Zero asks with a hint of humor in his voice.

"Yeah, pretty much," I say.

I don't know of anything to talk about, and Zero _clearly_ isn't going to offer a subject, so the next fifteen minutes of our walk will go by in complete silence, I guess.

************Two minutes late************

"Zero, I'm boooooorrrrreeeeeddddd," I whine. I glance at him and notice a vein popping out of the side of his forehead.

"Can't you just stop talking?" Zero asks in an agitated tone.

"No," I say cheerily. I look to the forest just off the path and see a cute bunny. "BUNNY~!" I scream as I dash towards the forest to chase after the bunny. After a thirty-second high-speed chase, I catch the bunny and rub its little nose against mine. "You are soooo cute, _yes you are_ ~!" I squeal.

"Rose, stop chasing after animals!" I feel a hand hit the back of my head with an enormous amount of force causing me to let go of my bunny and to rush my now free hands to my head.

"Ow," I say, holding back tears as best as possible.

Zero steps in front of me (might I add _towering_ over me). "What is your problem?" he asks cruelly.

I sniff as a few tears roll down my face. "It was a cute bunny, Zero. How could I not chase after it?"

Zero puts his forefinger and thumb on his nose and sighs. "You are hopeless. Even though vampires are after you, you continue to run off and get lost just because you saw something cute."

I blink away my tears and look around. "I got us lost again, didn't I?" I ask, realizing that we are in the middle of a very mysterious forest.

"Get up and lets go," Zero orders as he grabs my hair and pulls me off the ground. I yelp, but he ignores my cry of pain and drags me, his hand still clenched with a handful of my hair, through the forest.

"Zero!" I shout.

Suddenly crows cry out as they fly away, and I can't help but feel as though someone else is here with us.

"Rose," Zero says quietly as he lets go of my hair, "be still."

I stand as still as a statue, not wishing to anger Zero anymore. "What's wrong?" I ask in a whisper.

Zero puts a finger to his lips, signaling me to be quiet. Zero steps behind me, looking for something or someone.

"Shizuka!" Zero calls out. An echo of her name rings throughout the forest, sending chills down my spine. I turn around to look at Zero, hoping that he can protect me from her if she is here.

"Zero…" I mumble. He glances down at me cowering behind him, but quickly turns away when the sound of the rustling of leaves and twigs breaking is heard not to far in the distance. As I look at the ground where I'd heard the noise and see pale bare feet, my body becomes limp causing me to lean against Zero for support.

"Zero, Rose, what a lovely surprise," Shizuka says as she steps out of the shadows of the trees.

"Shizuka," Zero and I both say, except Zero's voice is filled with disgust.

"I never thought the two of you would have met so soon. I was expecting your meeting to be in a few more years." Shizuka's face has an awful grin plastered across it. "When Phoenix told me that the two of you were together, I had to come and see for myself what my beautiful work had turned out to be."

I grit my teeth. "Shizuka, how dare you!" I shout. I start to move away from Zero, but he holds his hand out.

"Rose, don't," Zero orders.

I push his hand away. Zero glares at me and I say, "I don't care what you say. She killed my father, Zero! And who knows what she did to my mother." A tear rolls down my cheek, followed by a few more.

"Oh, your mother," Shizuka says. "Do you want to know about your mother, Rose?" she asks tauntingly.

"NO!" Zero yells at her.

I slap Zero's arm. "Shut up Zero. I want to know where my mother is!"

"No you don't," Zero says. His eyes are that red color that I hate, which pisses me off worse than I already was.

"Zero, shut up and stay out of this! You don't know anything, and you even _hate_ vampires, so why the hell are you acting like this?!" Zero doesn't respond. I turn my gaze back to Shizuka, waiting for an answer.

"Rose, I can fully agree with Zero that you might not want to know where your mother is," Shizuka says slowly.

"Tell. Me. _NOW!"_ I scream.

A broader smile creeps across Shizuka's pale lips. "Rose, your mother is-"

**_BANG!_ **

I turn around as a bullet flies by my head towards Shizuka, only to find Kaien and Toga standing behind us.

"Kaien," I say. "What the hell are you-" Zero quickly puts one hand over my mouth, using his other arm to wrap around my arms and carry me away from Shizuka. I try to wriggle my way free, but Zero's grip is just too much for me.

"Shizuka," Kaien says, "it is time you paid for the crimes you have committed."

As Zero stops behind Kaien and Toga, I see that Shizuka's face is twisted into a frown. "It isn't time yet," she says. She starts to retreat into the shadows, and I am trying to break free of Zero's hold so I can force her to tell me where my mother is and why she has done this to me, but Zero is a lot stronger than I thought.

Toga points his gun at her, making her stop in her tracks. "Don't think I am going to let you leave. Not after what you did to the Kiryu's. I won't allow it."

Kaien glares at Toga for a moment, but changes his now soft gaze to me. "Rose, I'm sorry I've had to put you in this position, but I had no choice." Zero loosens his grip on me a little. I look into Kaien's eyes and see how sad they are. "I hate to be the one to admit this, but there are things that are going to affect your life if we don't do something now."

Kaien looks away from me, but before he does I notice his eyes are watery, as if this is something he never wanted to do. I close my eyes because I don't want to remember any of this. I don't want to know what is going to happen, and I'm scared. If something bad happens because they tried to kill Shizuka, I'll never be able to live with myself. Especially if something happened to Zero…

"Shizuka," Zero says, breaking me from my trance, "are you ready to explain why you did this to Rose and me?"

I hear a soft laugh. "If I told you, Zero, I'd have to kill you all now. But I have other plans, and you both aren't ready yet."

"What the hell does that mean?!" Zero shouts at her.

"When the moon is full and the cat has had its milk, then the cat will sleep and the mouse that was hidden will be free," Shizuka says.

I hear footsteps walking away followed by Zero dropping me to the ground, leaving me with a mouthful of dirt and leaves. All I can tell is that Zero is yelling at Shizuka, along with Toga, but I can't tell what about. My eyes are still shut, and my hearing slightly deafened, and I plan to keep it that way.

"Rose," a voice says in my ear. I jump at the sudden sound of Kaien's words, but I feel his hand on my back telling me that I'm OK. "Keep your eyes closed and don't listen to anything other than my voice. I am going to get you out of here and back to the school."

"What about the others," I mumble.

Kaien helps me stand and pushes on my back getting me to walk in whatever direction it is. "They are going after her. They will be alright."

After a little while of walking with my eyes closed, which is not as fun as it might seem, I decide that it is time to open them. "Can I open my eyes now?" I ask.

"Oh, I forgot. Yes, you can open your eyes," Kaien says sweetly.

I open them and notice that we are on a dirt road, but not the one that Zero and I were on earlier. I look beside me at Kaien. "Where are we?" I ask.

Kaien looks at me and smiles. "I thought, since you were already out this far, that you might want to see your father's grave," Kaien says.

"My father's grave?" I ask.

Kaien nods his head. "I thought you might like to see it."

I smile a little. "What was he like?" I ask.

"Oh, he was the kind of guy that hardly ever argued with anyone. He was nice to complete strangers and always helped people, whether they were a vampire or human."

"So, he was a lot like you," I say trying to picture him in my head.

Kaien laughs. "No, I am like him. I wish you could have known your father. He was an inspiration to the people around him."

I sigh. "Then why did Shizuka kill him?" I ask.

Kaien's smile fades, leaving him with a sickly expression. "That was what I was hoping to find out. But before Toga or I could do anything, she ran off." I stop walking. When Kaien notices, he stops in front of me and crosses his arms. "What's wrong now?"

"Where is my mother?" I ask him, my fists clenched tightly. "I know you know."

"What makes you think I know?" Kaien asks. If he is lying, he is extremely good at it.

"Because Zero told me that I didn't want to know where she was, which can only mean that you or Toga know." I glare at him because I am sick of being treated like a little helpless child. "I want and answer _now_!" I order.

Kaien sighs and turns around. "Let's keep walking, and I'll tell you."

I start walking beside him, waiting for the information to seep out of his lips.

"Rose, there is a reason I haven't told you things. I… I wasn't sure, and I'm still not, if it is something you can handle." Kaien looks down at me, his eyes sad once more.

"Why?" I ask. "Is it _that_ horrible that I shouldn't know?"

"No, you have every right to know. I just wanted to save you any pain that it might cause you." Taking all of this in, I look up ahead and see a fence. As we get closer, I can tell that it is the graveyard that my father is buried at. Trying to hide tears away was never my stronghold, and there is no hiding it now. "Rose, go on ahead. I'll catch up."

With that, I rush off in to the many rows of grave stones all in very symmetrical lines. I come to a stop when I notice a gravestone with an angel perched on top surrounded by flowers. I walk over to it and read the name on it. Tears start to form in my eyes again, flowing like waterfalls down my face. A hand appears on my shoulder.

"Rose, I'm sorry," Kaien says. "I don't know how much it must hurt, but I am here if you-" Before he finishes, I turn around and bury my face in his chest and cry. I feel Kaien wrap his arms around me, much like a parent would do.

"It'll be alright, Rose. I promise. Your father knew this would happen, so he asked me to take care of you when it did. I knew that it would be nearly impossible for me to care for you, so I sent you to live with the vampire hunter family you lived with. Sky was there too, but I know now that Shizuka destroyed both of your memories. I am here to take care of you, now. I won't let Shizuka get any of you kids."

"Thank you," I say. "But why didn't you tell me?" I ask. I pull away from him enough to look him in the eyes.

"Your father asked me not to until I thought you were ready," Kaien says. He lets go of me and I turn back to my father's grave. The words on it say:

_Loving father and husband_

_Pierre_ _Jody Hio_

I shudder at the thought that _my_ father, the man who Kaien praises as a pacifist, was married to Shizuka Hio, who is _my_ mother.

"Rose, I am sorry," Kaien says. He places his hand on my shoulder again. "Let's go home."

I nod and walk away from the grave of my father's. We walk back to the school not saying a word. There isn't anything to say, really. Nothing at all.

Kaien walks through the gates first and I follow. I don't want anyone to see me right now. I don't feel like talking. Kaien guides me to my room that I share with Zero, offering to stay and get me stuff, but I tell him to leave because I just want to be alone. I flop back on the bed and look at the ceiling. _Why is she my mother and why did she kill my father? What the hell has she got in store for me?_ I hear the door open and I sit up. "Yuki," I say softly as Yuki walks in to the room.

"Hey, how are you?" Yuki asks as she shuts the door.

"I've been _far_ better," I say. I pat the bed silently showing her that she can sit down. She walks over and hops down on the bed, wrapping me in a hug.

"It'll be OK, Rose. Headmaster is a good person. He won't let you get hurt. Especially since Shizuka took his best friend away and is threatening to take two of his favorite kids away as well." I look at Yuki with a confused face, but all she does is smile.

"Did he tell you?" I ask.

Yuki nods. "Yes, he told me. But even if headmaster can't protect you, you've still got Zero and me. Oh! And Kaname, too."

I glare at her. "No. Kaname stays out of this. I don't want anything to do with him," I say angrily.

Yuki turns pale. I must have spoken harsher than I meant to. "But why?" she asks.

I shake my head. "No, you don't need to know. This is between the Kaname and me."

Yuki lets go of me and looks me in the eyes. "You can tell me. I promise I won't tell."

I sigh, realizing that she won't let it go. "A few years ago, when I still lived in his home, Kaname told me he loved me. I ran away, for more than just that one reason, and never saw him again until now. Now he told me he still loves me, but because Zero and I are together, they both have to prove their love to me and in a month I have to choose one of them. And all of that is piling up with Shizuka." I let a tear fall. "Yuki, what am I going to do?"

Yuki smiles at me and tilts her head. "You are going to be strong and rely on others to help you. That is exactly what you are going to do."

I smile and nod my head. Yuki wipes the tears away with a bright smile on her face. _But somehow, Yuki, you are mixed in all of this as well. But I don't know how yet._

"Thank you, Yuki. I needed that," I say as she pulls her hand away from my face.

"Your welcome. Now all we have to do is get you through this month and you'll be fine." Yuki stands up and holds her hand out to me. "Now, let's get you some food. You look hungry."

All of a sudden my stomach growls loudly, causing the both of us to laugh. "I guess I am hungry," I say as I take Yuki's hand. "Let's get something to eat."

"To the cafeteria we go!" Yuki shouts. She opens the door and we begin our walk to the cafeteria.


	18. The Hardest Time

One Month Later….

"Yume," Yori says as we walk down the hall after class ends for the day, "what is up with Zero? He has been acting weird lately."

I shrug my shoulders. "It is _really_ complicated," I say.

"Oh, OK," she says.

I turn to smile at her, but find myself on the ground quicker than my mind could react. As I push my books off me and look up to see what I bumped in to, I find Kaname standing in front of me with his hand out for me to grab. I sigh and take it because everyone would find it rude of me if I don't.

"Thank you, Kaname," I mutter.

"I'm sorry I made you fall," Kaname says with his sly smile.

"Sure," I say as I walk by him.

"Oh, Yume," Kaname calls after me.

I stop and turn to face him. I do not have time for his crap today. Well, I don't feel like it to say the least. "Yes, Kaname?"

Kaname walks towards me. "I need to talk to you," he says as he grabs my arm.

"Kuran, what are you doing here?" Zero asks as he jerks Kaname's hand away from me.

Kaname glares at Zero. This has been going on for the last month. And it has been getting worse since this month is almost over.

"I came to ask Yume a question," Kaname replies.

Zero chuckles. "Like I'd allow you to talk to her. She is taken." Zero glances down at me with his perfectly practiced smile.

Kaname walks past Zero, barely muttering, "Not if I can help it," so Zero and I are the only people to hear it. I glare back at him, but he never looks back.

"What was that all about?" Yori asks once again.

I look at her and shrug my shoulders. "It just got more complicated."

When Zero, Yori, and I get to Yori's room, Zero and I say goodbye. We walk down the corridor and down the stairs to the front doors of the school. Today is the day that I have to decide, and I have no choice but to be honest with my choice. Kaien already made it clear to me when Kaname interrupted class by bringing me giant stuffed animals (which were soooo adorable I might add) that I can't just lie and choose Zero. I have to be completely honest with myself and them.

"Rose, are you awake?" Zero asks me.

I snap to and look at Zero. "Of course Zero-kun!"

Zero rolls his eyes. "I've already told you countless times before not to call me that," he grunts.

I smile. "You've only said it one hundred times. No, this makes one hundred-one times you've said it." Zero face palms himself. I laugh since this may be the last time I'm with him.

"Zero! Rose!" someone shouts from behind us. I turn around to see Yuki running towards us.

"Hey, Yuki," I say as she stops in front of me.

Yuki looks at me with a puzzled expression. "Rose, what are you doing here?!" she shouts at me.

"What are you talking about?" I ask.

"Is something wrong?" Zero asks with slight curiosity.

"Uh, yeah something's wrong!" Yuki shouts again. "There are vampire hunters after Rose!"

I roll my eyes. "Who told you that?" I ask.

"Kaname," Yuki replies.

"Have you not been paying attention the past month?" I ask. "Kaname will do anything to get me away from Zero."

"Oh…" Yuki glances around frightfully.

"What are you scared of?" Zero asks.

"Kaname just seemed… mad now that I think of it," Yuki says.

"Come with us, then," I say. I grab her hand and begin walking again. It has been a while since the three of us have had a chance to talk. But now we don't have anything to talk about because of the extreme tension.

I suddenly stop walking. "Rose, what's wrong?" Yuki asks.

"I smell something," I mutter. Zero takes a deep breath. Then he puts his hand over my nose and mouth. I try to pull his hand away, but he is still much stronger than I.

"Zero, what's wrong?" Yuki asks quickly.

"I smell blood," Zero replies in a whisper.

My eyes widen. The only blood I've ever smelled is my own, and Hanabusa's, so this is really something new for me.

"What are we going to do?" Yuki asks as she pulls her Artemis rod out.

"Stay quiet," Zero says as he reaches into his jacket to retrieve the Bloody Rose.

I struggle to move Zero's hand so I can breath. "Zero," I mumble. "I…can't…breath." Zero removes his hand from my face, but grabs both of my hands and holds them behind my back. "What the-"

"Shush!" Zero says in to my ear.

I glare up at him. "What are you doing?" I whisper angrily.

"I'm protecting you," he says, a cold look in his eyes.

I glance at Yuki who is standing just a bit behind Zero. "Yuki," I beg.

Yuki shakes her head. "Let Zero do what he has to do," she says.

_Great. Just freakin' great! I'm being held hostage by Zero._

"Rose, be quiet and breath slowly," Zero says once more in to my ear.

I sigh and do as he says, but apparently not fast enough. A shadowy figure approaches us from the woods. _Wait. We are still on school grounds. Who the hell is this?!_ Out of nowhere, Zero's hand covers my eyes and I can't see who it is.

"Zero!" I shout.

"Rose?" a voice calls out. A voice that I don't recognize. It is a harsh male voice that sounds choked or suffocated even.

"Don't say anything you monster," Zero says cruelly.

"Zero," the person says again, this time sounding clearer.

"Shut up!" Zero shouts.

At this moment I take my chance and remove Zero's hand from my face to see what it is that he is trying to hide from me. Though, when I see Kaname standing before covered in blood, I wish I hadn't.

"Kaname?" I ask. "What… what have you done?"

Kaname looks away from me. "Rose… I-"

"You have no right to speak to her in the state you are in," Zero shouts.

I glare back at Zero. "And what right do you have to control me?!" I ask, raising my voice.

"Do you not want me to protect you?" Zero asks.

"That isn't what I meant," I say, turning back to Kaname.

"What have you done, Kaname?" I ask again.

Kaname turns his head in my direction. His eyes are glowing red along with the red blood dripping down his face. "I'm sorry," I says.

I look in to his eyes and feel sorry for him. I know Kaname has a problem, almost like a drinking problem just with blood. It gets worse when he doesn't get what he wants, which is what has been going on for a month now.

"For what?" I ask because I have a feeling that there is more to this than just because he let me see him like this.

Kaname looks behind him, and I smell the blood again. My eyes widen as I realize whose blood it is. "Sky," I say as I follow the scent.

I look behind a tree and find Sky propped against it looking up at me. I crouch down and look in to her eyes. "Sky, are you alright?" I ask worriedly.

Sky nods her head. "Rose, don't be mad at Kaname. He…" Sky takes a deep breath. "He loves you, and he didn't want to hurt you. But he… he just."

"I know," I whisper as Zero, Yuki, and Kaname walk up behind me. I look into Sky's eyes and give her a half-smile. "I know."

"Sky, are you alright?" Yuki asks as she kneels down to check her wound.

"Yes, I'm fine," Sky replies.

Yuki looks at me and then to Zero and Kaname. "I want to three of you to get headmaster Cross and bring him here. And do it in a nice manner," Yuki adds.

I get up and walk away from Sky and Yuki with Kaname behind me and Zero in front of me. For a while we walk in silence. An eerie silence that is frightening. But out of nowhere, Kaname grabs my arm and stops me. I look back at him and notice that moon light is all around us.

"Kaname, what' wrong?" I ask gently. Zero places his hand on my shoulder. What is it, tug-of-war?

"You need to decide, Rose," Kaname says in his usual manner. "And you need to decide now."

I look into Kaname's eyes, and then into Zero's eyes. Their eyes are so intense that I can barely look at them. I jerk away from their grip and walk over to a tree. I have to choose, but who? I know that I now have feelings for both of them that I never thought I would have. But I have to choose truthfully and honestly like Kaien said.

I turn back to them. Their stares haven't changed any. _I know that being with Kaname might get me killed in the end and might not even make me happy. However, Zero has made it clear that he doesn't love me, or at least that's how he felt a month ago. But I have feelings for him_.

I shake my head and take a deep breath. I have to choose. I have to. "Zero, Kaname, I… I choose…."


	19. Rose's Choice

I stop talking, take a deep breath, and close my eyes. "I choose… I choose Zero," I say as I open my eyes. Kaname looks so hurt and Zero looks surprised. I feel bad, yet I'm happy at the same time. As long as Zero doesn't reject me, anyway...

"Rose, are you sure?" I hear a male voice ask.

I turn around and see Kaien leaning against a tree. "What do you mean am I sure?" I ask him.

Kaien walks towards me and puts his left hand on my right shoulder. "Are you sure you love Zero?" Kaien asks once more.

"Yes, I'm sure," I say. The look that Kaien is giving me is somewhat stern, but also pleased.

Kaien then looks behind me. I look back as well. "Kaname, she has made her decision; her honest decision." Kaien looks at Zero for a moment before continuing. "Zero, is this alright with you?"

Zero looks at me and half-smiles. "Yes," Zero replies. I smile but quickly frown when Kaname begins to stare at me.

"Kaname, I made my choice," I say.

Kaname's eyes turn red. "I won't go down without a fight," he says angrily.

I shake my head. "You already put up a fight, Kaname. Please, I'm begging you to stop!" I plead.

Kaname turns away and vanishes in to the night, leaving Zero, Kaien, and myself alone in the forest. "Kaien…" I whimper. "Did I… did I do the right thing?"

"If you did, then would you be questioning it?" Kaien asks me.

I walk towards Zero and wrap my arms around him. I burry my head in his chest and whisper, "I don't know."

"Headmaster, Yuki needs you to help her with Sky," Zero says.

"Where are they?" Kaien asks.

"Not too far behind us," Zero says.

"Then I'll be going," Kaien says. I listen for his footsteps to disappear before I think about saying anything.

"Rose," Zero says before I can speak, "are you alright?"

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I guess I am," I say.

Zero laughs slowly, but sweetly. "I guess our plan is foiled."

I Let go of Zero and look up at him. "I'm so sorry, Zero."

Zero shakes his head. "Why should you be? You made your choice."

"But I never bothered to ask if you felt the same as me," I cry, tears rolling down my face.

However, Zero does something unexpected. He cups my face with his hands and kisses me. Not a fake kiss, but a real one. When he lets me go, I feel a little light headed.

"Rose, I do feel the same. I have for a while. But…" Zero looks away from me. "I never had the guts to tell you."

I smile, but my eyes feel droopy. "I love you Zero." Zero looks back at me with a smile. I only see it for a moment, though, before my eyes close and I lose consciousness…

* * *

"Yume, can you hear me? Yume?" someone calls out to me.

"Unn…" I moan as I try to open my eyes.

"Phew. I thought you weren't ever going to wake up." The voice sounds like Sky, but why would she call me Yume? Unless there were other people with her.

"Where… where am I?" I ask as my eyes open more. I sit up and look around, realizing that this all feels so familiar. Then I remember that I had a dream a month ago; one that involved Kaname. I quickly look around for him, but he is nowhere to be found.

"What's wrong?" Yori asks me.

I look at her. "No-nothing, Yori. I'm fine." I fake smile to assure her that I am "fine."

"That's great," she says. "Well, I must be going. My family is waiting on me in the car," Yori says as she walks towards the door.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

Yori stops and looks at me. "It's fall break, silly." Yori smiles and leaves the room. Zero, Yuki, and Sky are the only ones left.

"You didn't know it was fall break?" Yuki asks.

I shake my head. "I had no idea. I mean, I don't even know what fall break is," I say.

Zero rolls his eyes. "You are hopeless, Ro-Ro," Zero says, childishly.

We all look at him. "Ro-Ro?" I ask. "Ro-Ro?"

Zero begins to blush. "You don't like it?"

I shake my head frantically. "No, I-I thought it was cute, Zero-kun."

Yuki and Sky giggle. "You guys are so cute," Yuki says.

"I'm so glad everything worked out," Sky says.

"Oh, Sky, how are you feeling?" I ask as I remember what Kaname had done to her.

"I'm fine, really. Don't worry about me," Sky says innocently.

"Rose," Zero begins, "you _know_ I don't like Zero-Kun."

I giggle. "Yeah, I know."

Zero heads for the door, but I jump out of the bed and wrap my arms around him. "No, Zero-kun! You can't go!" I whine.

"Rose, stop calling me that," Zero orders.

I tighten my grip. "But Zero-kun!"

"You two are perfect for one another," Sky says as she walk up to us.

Zero sighs. "Yeah, I do agree."

I look up at him and he looks down at me. "Really?" I ask.

Zero nods his head. "Yes." He pulls my arms off him and turns around to face me. "Don't you think?" I smile, and, to my surprise, Zero kisses me right in front of everyone. The last time I closed my eyes, but this time I can't. I can't take my eyes away from the window in the door; my eyes are frozen as I look in to the eyes of Kaname Kuran.


	20. Fight Or Flight?

Kaname's eyes are redder than last night, but I can't seem to pull myself away from Zero even though I know it is making Kaname angry. _But maybe it is just my imagination. Yeah, because that's_ _ **so**_ _the answer for_ _ **everything**_.

Suddenly, the door opens and Kaname walks in. Zero removes his lips from mine to look at Kaname, but holds on to my hand. "Is something wrong, Kaname?" Zero asks.

The tension in this room is growing slowly, but is enough to make anyone uncomfortable. "I came to say goodbye. I am going home for fall break," Kaname replies. I roll my eyes, but deep inside me I feel some pity for the home he has to go back to. "Are you feeling better, Rose?" he asks me.

"I guess," I say. I look him in the eyes and notice they are back to normal. "Why do you care?"

Kaname chuckles. "Rose, I will always care," he says.

Zero puts his arm in front of me and glares at Kaname. "Watch what you say, vampire."

Kaname's eyes widen. "Oh, calling me a vampire as an insult, are we?" he says sarcastically. "Too bad that you fell in love with one."

Zero's fist rushes towards Kaname's face, but I quickly grab it and stop Zero. "Stop it!" I shout. "I've had enough of this constant fighting!"

Zero slowly puts his arm down. "Rose…" The tears in my eyes stream down my face as I stare into Kaname's red eyes surrounded by his nonchalant face.

Kaname bares his teeth and growls, "I'm not done with you." He turns towards the open door and slams it as he leaves.

"Rose, are you alright?" Yuki asks.

I turn to her and nod my head. "Why?" I ask.

"Your eyes are… red," Yuki says.

"What?" I mutter. I rush to a mirror and look in to it and see that my eyes really are red. "But how? How could this be?" I ask aloud.

"Maybe it's just the fact that Kaname _really_ pissed you off," Yuki says.

"No," Sky says, "that isn't it alone." She looks at me with sad eyes. "When I realized that I was a vampire, it was because I was angry."

"Shit," I mumble. "This… this can't be happening. I'm not a vampire!" I make a fist and punch a hole in the wall beside me. My body begins to tremble as my emotions begin to fluctuate.

"Rose, calm done," Zero says as he walks towards me.

"Just get out! All of you!" I shout at them.

"But, Rose-"

"Get out Zero!" I scream. I watch as Yuki pulls Zero out of the room while Sky remains. "I told you to leave," I say angrily.

"I'm not leaving you like this," Sky says. She walks towards me and puts one hand on my shoulder. "I lied, if you couldn't tell."

I laugh. "I'm not that stupid. I know you knew the whole time you were a vampire. I'm glad you saw I wanted them gone." I turn my gaze from her to the window. "What is happening to me, Sky?"

"I don't know, other than the fact that it is trying to break through," Sky says.

"What is?" I ask.

"Your vampire instincts," Sky says calmly.

"But why now?" I ask. However, Sky remains quiet so I look at her. "Sky?"

Sky sighs and looks at the ground. "Last night was the first time you have ever smelled blood of your own family. It awoke your senses and made you hunger for blood."

"But I don't have the slightest hunger!" I shout at her.

"Not yet, at least…"

I push her away forcefully and watch her fall to the ground. "I AM NOT A VAMPIRE!" I walk over her body and bust open the door.

"Rose! Rose!" Sky calls after me, but I ignore her and walk away. I open the doors out of the school building and walk outside angrily. As I walk, I notice people rushing towards the gates of the school. The students give me funny glance, and I realize that I eyes are probably still red. I quickly dash towards the lake and look at my reflection. I still have red eyes and now I have fangs.

I kick at my reflection and watch the ripples distort my image. "Damn you Kaname!" I scream as loud as I can. My face becomes hot as my body begins to shake again. However, this time I collapse to the ground, huddled over with my fists clenched.

"There you are," a voice calls out. I look up and bite my lip.

"Zero…" I look away from him because I don't want him to see me like this. Because I don't know what I am capable of.

"Sky told me what happened," Zero says as he approaches me. "You'll be alright."

I notice a rock beside my hand, so I quickly pick it up and throw it at him. "Zero, get-"

Before I could finish, Zero grabs my arms and puts his face to mine. "You won't become a vampire, Rose. I won't let you."

"Zero…" I mutter. Zero wraps his arms around me and kisses my cheek. "Zero, please… Let me go," I beg as a sudden urge grows in me that I have never had before.

"No, I won't let you be alone," Zero says. "No one knew about my life except for Cross. I know about yours, and I will be here for you."

"But Zero…" My body begins to shiver and I become thirsty. I shake my head. "No, Zero. Let me go!" I say as I try to pull away from him.

I feel a hand on my head gently pat it. "Everything will be alright, Rose. If you can't hold it in any longer, I am here. Let me be here for you like Yuki was for me," Zero says softly.

Soon, I find myself sinking my fangs in to Zero's neck. _His blood… it is soothing… it… it's like nothing I've ever tasted before. No. No! I-I can't do this._ I pull my fangs out of his neck and look at him.

"Zero, are-are you OK?" I ask hurriedly.

Zero smiles at me. "Yes, Rose, I'm fine." He kisses my forehead gentle, then wraps me in another hug. "Now I know how everyone else feels."

"Zero…" I feel like crying, but that seems to be all I do anymore. "What do I do now?" I ask.

"You keep it between the two of us," Zero says. "I don't know what everyone else would do if they found out that you gave in."

"Help me up, Zero-kun," I say, sheepishly.

"Alright." Zero stands and helps me up. "Lets get you cleaned up before we go back to campus."

"N'kay," I say.


	21. Mishap

Zero and I walk into our room and shut the door. "Come here," Zero says as he walks towards the sink and turns it on. He grabs a washcloth and puts it under the water.

"Zero," I say, "are you okay?"

Zero ignores me and proceeds to wash his blood off my face. Then he washes the blood from the wound I inflicted on him.

"I'm sorry," I say.

Zero looks at me with a dull expression. "Why? I told you to. If anyone should say they are sorry, it is me."

I shake my head. "Let's just forget all this." I take a deep breath and look at Zero's wound. "I… I never wanted to end up like this, Zero. To have to rely on blood; it was never supposed to happen."

"Listen, you will be alright," Zero says. "I don't know why you are so worked up."

I begin to glare at him. "Zero, I can recall a smartass not too long ago who was ashamed of becoming a vampire," I growl at him.

Zero turns away from me. "I've changed."

"Well I haven't and I don't plan to," I say as I walk to the bed and plop myself down on it. I continue to glare at Zero as he washes the blood from his neck. But as soon as I see his shirt come off, I lie back and look at the ceiling.

"What, you still can't look?" I hear Zero ask me.

"I don't think it's right for me to look," I mumble.

I hear a low laugh and footsteps walking towards me. "Rose, I don't get you one bit."

I roll my eyes. "Whatever."

Suddenly, a hand slams down next to my head. "Rose, just stop this bullshit!" Zero yells at me.

I push his hand away and sit up. "What the hell, Zero?" I ask him.

Zero glares at me with red eyes. "Just stop playing your stupid act. I've tried to be nice and calm and to make sure that you know you are not alone in this, but your constant bitching about _everything_ is getting old!"

Instead of staring in to his eyes, I look away. "You don't get it," I say.

" _I_ don't get it? I am the only one who does," Zero says, grabbing my head and forcing me to look at him. "But I can't handle you giving up on life because you became a vampire. You still have a sister to take care of and an enemy we both have to kill."

I sigh. "Whatever, Zero. I don't feel good, so just shut the hell up," I whine.

"Fine," Zero says. He lets me go and walks away. "I'm going to town," Zero says and leaves me alone.

I lie back down on the bed. "Why is this happening to me? Why?" I ask myself.

_**Knock knock.** _

I sit up again. _Who the hell is at the door?_ I think. I get up and walk to the door and open it.

"Rose," Kaien says. "Are you alright?"

My lip begins to quiver at the sight of Kaien and I burst in to tears. "Kaien…" I cry.

"Shush. It's alright," Kaien says. He walks to me and wraps his arms around me, pulling me in to a hug. "I know what happened. I'll be here to help you through all of these sudden changes."

I look up at him. "How did you-" I try to ask, but am cut off.

"This is my school after all. You should have at least expected me to find out," Kaien says sweetly. "Come with me to my office. I…." He looks down at me with sad eyes. "I need to talk to you."

I wipe the tears off my face. "About what?"

"Just come with me," he says as we leave for his office.

When we walk in, I see Toga looking out the window with his gun in his hand. As Kaien shuts the door, Toga looks at me. Kaien pushes on my back towards the seat in front of his desk and I sit down.

"Rose," Kaien says softly, "we need to talk. The three of us….." He looks at Toga. Toga shakes his head and Kaien looks back at me. "Just the three of us."

"About what?" I ask.

Toga steps away from the window and props himself up on the desk. "About you drinking Zero's blood."

My body becomes cold as ice. "Wh-what about it?"

"Nothing bad," Kaien says. "We just aren't really sure how much this will change you."

I look at the ground. "I d-didn't mean to, Kaien. I… I just….." Tears start to form in my eyes.

I hear Toga sigh. "Rose, stop crying."

I look up at him. "Why do you care? I thought you wanted me dead?" I ask.

"I care because I know who your father is," Toga says. "And your mother."

I feel a hand on my shoulder. "It's okay for him to know, Rose. He trusted your father," Kaien says.

"But I thought he hated vampires?" I look at Kaien then to Toga.

"I do hate vampires," Toga says. "But that was after Shizuka killed your father. That's where my hatred for vampires comes from."

"So…" I try to clear my head. "You knew my father?"

"Yes, stupid," he replies.

"Toga," Kaien says, "she is not stupid. She is just confused."

I shake my head. "But how is this helping me any?"

"I just wanted you to know that you can trust him and he will protect you, Rose," Kaien says.

"But what is going to happen to me now?" I ask. "What's going to happen now that I've tasted Zero's blood!?"

Everyone becomes silent. For a moment at least.

"We will teach you to ignore your hunger like your father did," Kaien says. "He overcame it, and so will you."

I hold my head in my hands. "How?" I ask.

"Well…" Kaien looks at Toga. "Toga knows how."

My eyes widen as I look at the ground. _Great, the guy who wanted me dead earlier is going to teach me. This can't end well._

I hear footsteps walking towards me and I look up to see Toga standing in front of me. "We will start training tomorrow, Rose. Be outside at dawn."

"Dawn?!" I shout. "What kind of training is this?"

Toga ignores me and walks to the door and leaves. I glare at Kaien.

"Hey, this isn't my choice," Kaien says hurriedly. "He is in charge of the training, not me. Besides, you need to wake up early so you won't want to sleep all day."

I sigh. "Fine, whatever." I get up and walk to the window. "Do you know where Zero is?" I ask.

"No, I haven't seen him. Why? Did something happen?" Kaien asks me.

"Well…. We kind of got into….." I bite my lip.

"An argument?" Kaien walks over to me. "Its okay to have arguments in a relationship."

I shake my head. "But I know I hurt his feelings… I just…" I take a deep breath and look at Kaien. "I just didn't want him to think I was weak, but in the end it made him angry."

Kaien puts his hand on my shoulder. "Then lets go find him," he says calmly.

"No, I can't look at him right now." As I turn away from him, I look at his desk and see a letter with Sky's and my name on it. "What's that?" I ask as I point to it.

"Go find Zero and I'll find you later," Kaien says as he looks outside.

Knowing that he is probably lost in his little world, I walk out of his office and shut his door slowly. Instead of walking outside to look for Zero, I walk around the school to clear my head.

"This is not what I came here for," I mumble to myself as I walk down the hall. As I walk, I look into one of the empty classrooms. It was the room where I had my first class. I smile softly and walk in and look around.

"Princess, it is so good to see you."

My eyes widen as I turn to look at the man who spoke. "Phoenix?!" I freeze as I stare into is cold, red eyes.

"Hello," Phoenix says as he bows. "It is wonderful to see you again, Princess."

I grit my teeth. "I am not your princess!" I shout at him.

Phoenix smiles. "But you are." He walks towards me and I take a step back. "Please don't be afraid, I won't hurt you."

"Get out of here and leave me alone!" I back up further but I trip on the teachers desk which causes me to fall on top of it.

"There, you seem comfortable," he says as he steps in front of me, making it impossible for me to escape.

"What do you want?" I ask.

Phoenix smiles. "Just to talk. I won't hurt you, I promise." He puts his hand over his heart and bows.

I sigh and look outside, hoping Zero, Yuki, or Sky will come to my rescue, but I suppose, until then, I will have to play Phoenix's little game.

"Fine, ill talk but that is it," I say.

Phoenix smiles wider, showing his fangs. "Thank you~"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last Chapter I have written, so please bear with me!


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